Smoke and Mirrors
by DJNS
Summary: After six years of relative peace, Aang and Zuko find themselves at odds over the Fire Nation colonies. Azula takes advantage. Kataang/Maiko/Sukka
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar. I'm merely borrowing Mike and Bryan's phenomenal characters and bending them to my will.**

**Thanks: To easilydistracted and satyuros, who both took time out of their busy schedules to beta this fic. Your help has been invaluable to me.**

**A/N: Though this fic is rated M, it is almost entirely T except for a few scenes. But I didn't feel right rating it less so…yeah… Also, JianJun is not a made up character. I just decided to give a name to that head Dai Li guy, lol.**

**2nd A/N: This story follows the same universe as my previous stories and they fall in this order:**

**The Avatar and the Firelord, A Week with the Bei Fongs, The Value of Sharing, An Auspicious Beginning, Coming of Age, Comedy of Errors and finally The First Night. This story takes place a few days after The First Night. Hopefully, that helps and eases any confusion you guys might have. Sorry I wasn't more clear about that. (I always forget to make a note about that kind of stuff.)**

* * *

**Prologue**

Solitude could sharpen the mind.

Azula learned that rather surprising truth during her first years of incarceration at Donghai Aiguo, a maximum security mental facility on a small, remote island off the Fire Nation coast. Her white-walled room was simply adorned, but comfortable with its wide, feather bed positioned upon a low dais, a small sofa facing the seaside balcony and a calligraphy desk made of dark, gleaming wood. There were plenty of windows covered with gossamer curtains to capture the brilliant ribbons of sunlight that filtered in over the mountaintops. Even the standard garb she wore was breezy and stylish, with gold threading around the collar and the sleeves. The room, the clothing…the entire facility itself was beautiful, quaint and elegant. However, Azula wasn't fooled by the holiday-like atmosphere. She knew exactly where she was and why.

Six long, bitter years had passed since her unbending. Cruel, thankless years and yet the memory of that day had not dimmed for her. With each new day, the reality that she could not bend, and would never bend again, reasserted itself. Azula could still smell the acrid smoke that had choked the air that night, the rush of adrenaline pounding in her veins. If she closed her eyes, she could still feel the Avatar's potent energy pulsating through her body. For that brief, stunning moment they had been one, fused in an unfathomable, exhilarating way. Azula had felt omnipotent, drunk with power and ability and then, without warning, she had been left empty, bereft.

Only later, when the haziness had cleared from her mind, did she have an acute understanding of what had occurred. Her bending had been stripped. She recalled how the Avatar had knelt beside her afterwards, saying nothing and surveying her with a stare full of pity and resolve. The flood of hatred she'd felt for him then had made her physically ill. She had curled herself into a ball and shaken with the force of it.

The months that followed were a blur. She'd had no will to eat, to bathe, to even lift her head from her pillow. Her days dragged on endlessly and her nights were plagued with gruesome nightmares. There had been no peace for her. She had wanted to die. She had _craved_ death back then. It was then, when she was at her lowest, her most desolate, that JianJun came to her. That he had retained his loyalty for her, even after she had callously banished him and his cohorts from the Fire Nation, touched something deep and protected within Azula. Even when she had given the Dai Li every reason to abandon her, they had not. Though she was unable to express it, Azula was grateful.

Under normal circumstances, Azula did not have many visitors. Her devoted older brother had seen to that. The Firelord had astutely ordered that all her visitors be screened by him personally before being allowed access to the princess. Thusly, no one saw her without his strict approval. In the early years, she had received only four regular visitors to her small, pristine room: her mother, her uncle, her brother and occasionally the Avatar. Over time, those visitors dwindled down to only one, _officially_ anyway. Azula was hardly bothered by that fact, however. She could do without her brother's constant judgment, her uncle's ridiculous anecdotes and the Avatar's unfailing "encouragement." They bored her. Besides, her brother's list hardly proved to be a stumbling block for her. As she had for most of her life, Azula did what she pleased, when she pleased.

"Princess?" Azula turned away from her view of the crashing ocean waves on the rocky cliffs below at the respectful knock that sounded at her door. She pivoted slightly to regard the attendant with raised brows as he timidly poked his head through the small opening he had made. "Lunch is being served now," he said. "Shall I bring in your tray?"

"I should like to eat on the beach today," Azula decided with a sigh. "Take my tray down to the courtyard and have my bow waiting for me when I arrive."

"Very good, Princess," the attendant agreed with a respectful nod. "Shall I have Master JianJun join you there?"

"You shall," she agreed.

As she made her way down to the courtyard, dressed in the standard garb of a red, loose shirt and trousers, unfettered and without a single guard flanking, Princess Azula received nothing more than cordial nods and well-wishes from the staff. Other patients, raving and panicked, were escorted through the gleaming corridors in tight bindings and sometimes under the influence of powerful sedatives. Azula, on the other hand, roamed where she wanted. It should have been alarming, at the very least, that the princess, a dangerous and disturbed patient, should be wandering the halls freely, as if without a single care and yet…no one batted an eyelash.

When Azula entered the courtyard, JianJun was waiting for her. He wore a deep, red cloak which concealed the green and black robes with their Dai Li insignia beneath the heavy fabric, his long, dark hair secured to the crown of his skull in a smart top knot. He looked to all the world like a typical, Fire Nation citizen. Azula smirked when she considered just how _deceiving_ looks could be because JianJun was anything but a typical Fire Nation citizen.

"Hello, JianJun," she greeted, extending her hands forward for his dutiful kiss.

"Princess," he murmured with a respectful bow. "You are doing well, I trust."

"Very well," she replied when he straightened. "I'm disappointed, however. I expected you sooner."

"There were unexpected complications," JianJun explained as he led her over to an unoccupied bench overlooking the ocean. On the table alongside it, her lunch and crossbow waited. "Your mother was here when I arrived. I thought it best to keep out of sight until she was gone."

At the mention of her mother, some of Azula's good humor faded and her lips quirked in a sullen pout. She picked at her meal disinterestedly before shoving the platter away altogether. "Yes, she made a special trip today," she replied with a snort of disgust. "She wanted to share the good news with me in person. Apparently, I'm an aunt now. My brother has recently become a father…to twin boys."

"I had heard that," JianJun murmured.

"Hmm…a prestigious title, the adoration of his people, a doting mother, a dutiful wife and now two perfect sons." As Azula enumerated her brother's many blessings, she stroked her fingers along the smooth, bamboo lines of her crossbow. "More happiness for Zuzu. How delightful," she quipped lightly, though there was nothing akin to joy in her tone when she said it.

"And the Avatar…he recently married, did he not?" JianJun inquired carefully.

"Yes, he did," Azula confirmed. "To his precious, little waterbender. He and Zuzu continue to go along with their happy, insipid little lives while I sit here day after day, month after month, _year after and year_ and rot."

"You know you can walk away whenever you choose, Princess," JianJun informed her softly.

In a flurry of motion, Azula leapt from the bench and swept up her crossbow, loading the steel tipped arrows with deft and fluid fingers. She aimed at the target she'd had her attendants erect for her months ago and fired off the shots in rapid succession, splitting the arrows apart with each new shot. She emptied her weapon in a matter of seconds, not having missed her target once. Without the benefit of her command, a servant materialized to remove the destroyed arrows before scuttling over to replace her spent ammunition. Azula barely spared him a glance as she reloaded her weapon and began firing again.

Unsurprisingly, she hit her target with fluid ease. Her dexterity with the crossbow was almost a beautiful thing in its chilling precision. She handled the weapon like an extension of her own body and it was amazing and fearsome that she was as deadly with the crossbow as she had been with her firebending.

"Your aim is flawless," JianJun commended. "You are so graceful and quick. I have never seen anything like it."

"I'm not perfect by any means," Azula told him, giving her head a haughty toss. "That will come with more practice. Lucky for me, there's little else to do in this place besides train."

"And they give you no trouble?" JianJun asked.

Azula flicked him with a cold smile. "No trouble at all. You and your fellow agents have been very thorough at what you do. I almost believe sometimes I'm at home in the palace myself, they treat me so well. You've made my stay here…almost bearable."

"If I am thorough, it is for you, Princess," JianJun replied with quiet sincerity.

It was on the tip of her tongue to snap at him for his sentimental foolishness, but Azula held her tongue. She knew he fancied himself in love with her, but Azula had no time for such nonsense and even less patience. She had always believed women to be the clingier sex, but JianJun had destroyed that notion in a matter of months. If she didn't know better she'd actually believe he expected them to be together always.

Azula almost snorted aloud at the idea. However, despite the minor annoyance he caused her, she recognized that JianJun was still of some use to her. She would not risk alienating him, not when her plan was finally beginning to take shape, not when she was so close to victory she could taste it. "Have you been watching him closely?" she asked the Dai Li agent as she returned her attention to her crossbow training.

JianJun nodded his confirmation, watching with infatuated eyes as Azula fired off another round of arrows. The whizzing sound her missiles made as they split the air was almost musical to him. "My sources tell me that the Avatar plans to remain in the Fire Nation indefinitely…at your brother's behest."

"I'm not surprised," Azula scoffed, more to herself than JianJun. "They have no idea what's coming, do they?"

"As far as they are concerned, the world is at peace," JianJun said.

"Because they are at peace," Azula sneered with a scornful laugh. "They consider themselves to be the greatest friends of all time, did you know that? Of course, they're arrogant enough to believe their _bond_ has united the world. I'm going to enjoy systematically destroying everything that matters to them. It's a good thing that the Avatar is staying with us here in the Fire Nation. That makes my plan all the easier to execute."

"We have the perfect place to keep him secure and hidden, Princess," JianJun said. "No one will think to look for him there. The irony is, when they _do_ begin to look for him, he'll be right under their noses."

"Very good work, JianJun," Azula commended. "I always did like making a fool out of Zuzu. It's not necessary, but it is entertaining nonetheless."

"I wish nothing but to please you, Princess," JianJun murmured deferentially, glowing inwardly over her rarely bestowed commendation.

"Now there are only a few more pieces of this puzzle I must put into place first and only then will we make our move. I cannot afford any loose ends this time."

"Princess, you could take him now if you wish it," JianJun assured her fervently. "You have more than enough support. And with the Avat—,"

"NO!" Azula snapped, whipping to face him so swiftly that it took him a moment to process the fact that her crossbow was aimed directly between his eyes. For a breathless second, JianJun was unsure of her plans. He swallowed audibly when Azula very slowly, very deliberately lowered her weapon. "Everything must happen in its proper time," she explained softly. "I made the mistake of acting rashly before and leading with my emotions and my shortsightedness cost me my freedom and my bending. I will _never_ make that mistake again."

"But don't you wish to be free?" JianJun reasoned carefully, biting back the question he truly wanted to ask her. "Don't you wish to make your enemies suffer as you have suffered?"

"Oh, they will suffer," Azula vowed with a confident laugh. "But it will happen according to plan. It's not enough to merely annihilate the Avatar. It's not even enough to vanquish my brother and strip him of the crown. I want the Fire Nation…the entire world at my feet. The Earth Kingdom provinces are primed for rebellion and I must capitalize on that. I will need to raise an army. I will need Long Feng." She raised decisive eyes to JianJun. "You must make that happen for me. Convince him that he has the Dai Li's loyalty, liberate him from prison and then make _him_ get me what I want."

"I will do as you ask," JianJun complied. "But, please know this, Princess…no matter how it seems, the Dai Li will always remain loyal to _you_. _I_ remain loyal."

"I wouldn't expect anything less from you." Azula smirked at him and reached over to pluck a plump grape from her plate and pop the succulent morsel into her mouth. She was acutely aware of the avid attention JianJun paid to her lips as she chewed and she took intense satisfaction in his mesmerized stare. He nearly expelled a loud, shuddering sigh when she finally uttered the words he had been waiting to hear since she had joined him in the courtyard.

"You may kiss me now, JianJun," Azula granted him softly.

"Thank you, Princess," he whispered before settling his lips to hers.

Though her mouth and body were unbelievably warm and pliant as JianJun pulled her into his arms for an ardent and unrestrained kiss and Azula responded to him, her amber colored eyes remained open and as cold and unyielding as ever.


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter One **_**(2 months later)**_

She had only meant to nuzzle him. In spite of her good intentions, however, a nuzzle became a kiss and a kiss eventually led to her brother's exasperated and disgusted groaning. Katara lifted her mouth from Aang's with a small sigh of consternation, smiling a little when, in spite of Sokka's obvious displeasure, Aang splayed a hand over her hip and pulled her more securely into his lap. For that, he deserved another kiss. Katara and Aang sighed into against each other's lips for a lingering moment, provoking Sokka to expel yet another obnoxious groan of disapproval. Katara finally fixed her brother with a narrowed glare. "What's your problem, Sokka?"

"My problem?" Sokka bleated. "I'm not the one being so…so blatant!"

"Sokka, chill out," Toph interjected dismissively. "They're just kissing! Don't get your loincloth in a twist! It's not like they were going at it right here on Zuko's bear skin rug! "

Zuko's strangled laughter was drowned out by Sokka's groaning, "Toph, I could have lived without that visual."

"Sokka, if we're really making you uncomfortable…" Aang began, obviously with the full intention of nudging his wife from his lap and finding another seat altogether.

Katara stubbornly clung to his shoulders and tossed a look of total defiance over at her brother. "Don't you dare move from this spot!" she admonished Aang in a sharp tone. "We are _married_, after all. We can do what we want, and Sokka can just live with it."

"It's not about that," Sokka argued. "I'm not trying to tell you what you can and can't do, but must you do it _in the middle of everything_?" he concluded in a mild screech. "Seriously, no one wants to sit here and watch you and Aang maul each other."

Sokka glanced over at Suki, who sat alongside him on the settee, with an expression that begged for backup. It was not forthcoming. "I have no problem with it," she said. "It's not like we haven't seen it before."

Eyes narrowed with disgruntlement and disappointment, Sokka swung a hopeful glance over to Zuko, who was busily watching the doorway for Mai's return. The young Firelord slumped down into the adjacent sofa with an unaffected shrug. "Hey, I'm just passing the time until my wife gets back," he followed up blandly. "I'm only half paying attention."

"Don't look at me," Toph tossed out before Sokka could throw a glance her way. "I'm blind, so what do I care?"

It was early afternoon in the Firelord's sitting room and the young friends had been reunited for less than an hour, after more than a two month separation. Yet, even with that separation between them, now that they were together again in a whole group, they fell into their traditional style of banter and teasing with relative ease. As usual, it was as if no time had passed for them at all.

Presently, Katara crowed with victory over Sokka's sullen expression and stuck her tongue out at him. "You see? Obviously, you're the only one who has issues with it. Besides, you're one to talk," she pointed out smartly. "How many times did _we_ have to watch _you_ 'maul' Suki, before and _after_ you got married?"

"Speak the truth," Toph muttered in agreement.

Sokka shot her a withering look. "I'm sorry, weren't you 'blind' a moment ago?" he retorted in blazing sarcasm.

"We see with more than just our eyes, Sokka," Toph replied with affected emotion. She feigned a sniffle. "We see with our hearts."

Her melodramatic response produced an understandable eye roll. "Oh, blow it out your bu—,"

"You're just mad because we all have a point," Katara interrupted, cutting off his would be insult. "Like I said, the only person who has a problem with it is you. Just get over yourself, Sokka. I'm not a little girl anymore."

Despite the nods of agreement from their friends, Sokka held on tenaciously to his argument. "But you're still my little sister," he stressed. "So you'll have to excuse me if I have a problem with some guy—"

"Wait a minute," Aang interrupted, affronted. "I'm just 'some guy'? What is that?"

"—No offense, buddy…I'm making a point here," he interjected quickly before continuing, "…putting his hands all over you! It's indecent."

"First of all, Aang is not 'some guy.' He's my _husband_. Second of all, he did not have his hands all over me," Katara declared with a haughty sniff. "You're just exaggerating." However, the uncomfortable whistling and marked eye avoidance from her friends as she looked about the sitting room, in addition to her own husband's coughing snicker made Katara rethink her stance. She favored Aang with an uncertain frown, noting the hot blush staining his cheeks. "Sokka _is_ exaggerating, right?" she pressed with a nervous laugh. "We weren't mauling each other, were we, Aang?"

"I…uh…well, we…um…" Aang hedged ineffectually, finding it difficult to make justifications when his reaction to her kiss was pressed, quite blatantly, into the pliant flesh of her upper thigh. "I…I wouldn't necessarily use that terminology…"

"Well, what terminology would you use?" Katara demanded with a narrowed stare.

"I believe the proper term is making out," Toph interjected helpfully.

Katara hid her face in the crook of Aang's shoulder with a mortified groan. "Oh no," she mumbled, her words muffled against his skin. "Why didn't you say something sooner, Aang?"

"Uh…because I liked it," he replied timidly, ignoring the censorious glare he received from Sokka for that bit of honesty.

"Guys, you're fine," Suki laughed, poking her grumbling husband. "You're newlyweds. How else are you supposed to act? Sokka and I were the same way. Ditto for Zuko and Mai. It's natural."

"And it's not just a phenomenon unique to newlyweds either. I think it must be like that with all new relationships. I can still remember when Iroh and I first got together…" Toph reminisced, smirking because she knew the reaction she would get from her next words and she relished it. She threw a goading grin over in Zuko's direction before adding, "Boy, he couldn't keep his hands off of me…"

"Eww!" Sokka balked. "I didn't need to know that." He curled his hands towards the heavens with a lamenting cry. "My mind! The visuals!"

"Seconded! That's too much information, Toph!" Zuko cried with a shudder. "Seriously. I'm happy for you and Uncle, but ignorance is bliss."

"That's not fair!" Toph retorted, blowing her shaggy bangs from her eyes. "I have to listen to the details of you guys' nauseating love stories all the time!"

"It's not the same," Zuko argued. "You know the deal! I told you not to put images of you and Uncle in my head!"

"How is it not the same?" Toph demanded petulantly. "I have love in my heart. I want to share it too. I don't understand why whenever I mention…"

The distraction that Toph and Zuko's bickering provided served an unexpected purpose. Zuko was so busy admonishing Toph for being deliberately obtuse, with Suki and Sokka pitching in their own commentary that no one immediately noticed the newlyweds had, once again, fallen into a round of softly exchanged kisses. As per usual, Sokka was the first to take note. He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, just because it's natural doesn't mean I want to _see_ it," he muttered under his breath.

Suki gave his goatee a playful yank. "Let them alone," she scolded him. "It wasn't so long ago that _we_ were like that. Remember?"

"Hey, we're still like that," Sokka protested, hugging her close. "We're newlyweds too. It's barely been a year."

"Yeah, but we're not like that anymore," Suki sighed with a nostalgic look over at the oblivious couple. "You know how it is. I guess I just miss new love sometimes, you know?"

Two months had passed since Aang and Katara had pledged their lives to each other in a quiet, simple ceremony. They did so before their family and a small group of their closest friends in the very clearing where they first went penguin sledding together and Aang later proposed. Since then, they had spent the better part of their honeymoon isolated from the rest of the world at Aang's boyhood home. For a time, it was as if they lived in their own, private world. They might have remained tucked away in the Southern Air Temple for eternity had not pressing Earth Kingdom business and the inaugural ceremony for Zuko's sons coaxed them out of their voluntary hiding.

Aang and Katara were whispering to one another quietly when Mai, who had excused herself earlier to put her infant son down for his nap, dragged into the sitting room with heavy sigh. Her waist length hair was unbound and in disarray, her clothing hopelessly wrinkled. It was a sharp contrast from her usually sleek and smart appearance. Instead, she looked more harried than she had before she left and she _still_ had a mewling baby still cradled against her chest.

"I thought you were going to let the nurse put him down for his nap," Zuko said as he went to lift their son from his exhausted wife's arms.

"I did," Mai sighed, collapsing down onto the nearby settee, seemingly impervious to the fact she had squished Sokka and Suki in. "Shi-Ning is finally asleep. That's Tong Kwu you have in your arms now."

"Are you serious?" Suki balked. "Don't they sleep at the same time?"

"We wish!" Zuko snorted between brushing kisses across the top of his son's downy head.

"But having nannies and nurses around the clock, not to mention a grandmother close by should help a lot, right?" Toph wondered.

"What do you think, Toph?" Mai demanded dispassionately. "Do I look well rested to you?"

"What is with you people forgetting I can't see?" Toph emphasized in a huff of exasperation.

"That's exactly my point," Mai grumbled. "I'm so tired I can't remember that."

"It's evident you two need some kind of back up or something," Suki remarked with a deeply concerned frown. "Kids are killing you."

"No. No backup. Mai and I are trying to be hands on parents," Zuko explained. "When Mai was a kid she was pawned off on nurses and nannies all the time. We don't want to do that to our sons."

"Isn't it a pain though?" Sokka wondered. Suki elbowed him for his thoughtless question, but he only lifted his shoulders in an impenitent shrug. "I'm just asking."

"It's no day at the beach," Mai replied. "But I wouldn't change anything…though a mutual feeding and sleeping schedule would be appreciated," she added in lamentation. "I'm so exhausted I can barely find the energy to blink."

Mai's twin birth had come as a shock to them all. In fact, the actual birth itself had been a shock. For weeks, Mai's birth had been anticipated by the group. The unofficial date had been mentally tucked away in each other their minds. The gang had deliberately planned their schedules in a manner where they could all be present and accounted for during the event. Notices went forth. Dignitaries arrived. The Fire Nation awaited the throne's newest heir with bated breath and… Mai's expected delivery date came and went. No baby.

Eventually, the friends reluctantly parted ways to deal with their individual duties. The foreign dignitaries returned home. The Fire Nation relaxed and resumed its regular activities. Days came and went and still no baby.

Nearly three weeks after Mai's expected delivery they had all been gathered together to aid Aang in his continued reconstruction of the Southern Air Temple. Originally, Mai was supposed to remain at home in the Fire Nation while Zuko lent a hand. However, the stubborn Fire Nation princess had other ideas. She had been unwilling to remain cooped up in the Palace, "fat, ugly and bored out of her mind." Consequently, she had tagged along, despite her husband's protests, and had given her friends the memory of a lifetime. Being present for the birth of one baby and aiding to assist that new life into the world was extraordinary enough. Being present for the birth of _two_ new lives was nothing short of miraculous.

"Should I call in the nurse?" Zuko asked as he paced the floor, bouncing his three month old son gently in his hands. "He seems a bit cranky and you need a break."

"No. You think?" his wife inquired sardonically.

"Don't bother. I'll take him," Katara volunteered eagerly, hopping up from Aang's lap to scoop Tong Kwu from Zuko's arms even before he had a chance to agree to her offer. She cradled the baby closer. "Hmm…he smells so sweet. I love the way babies smell. He's just the cutest thing ever." Aang scowled his disappointment over Katara's abrupt abandonment, watching with an envious pout as Zuko's son completely stole away his wife's attention.

He splayed his arms wide in mild disgruntlement. "Um hello…what about me? I'm still over here."

"So much for new love!" Sokka crowed triumphantly, slapping his knee in hilarity.

Zuko laughed his amusement as well. "That's what happens when you have babies," he told Aang. "You're suddenly invisible. So, take my advice and live it up while you can, buddy."

Toph snorted unsympathetically. "Aww, is baby Zuko not getting enough attention?" she teased him.

"When are you supposed to be joining Uncle in Ba Sing Se again?" Zuko wondered dryly.

"Getting tired of me already, nephew?" Toph joked.

"I told you not to call me that!" Zuko exploded shortly. "It's not funny, Toph."

Mai briefly lifted her head with a tired grunt. "Well, it's not too far from reality either," she drawled. "You'd do well to prepare yourself. We wouldn't want you to have another 'Komo' incident," she concluded with air quotes, affectionately referring to the time when, as his friends often labeled it, "Zuko lost his mind."

"Thank you," Zuko replied acerbically. "You are comforting as ever, my wife."

"It's who I am," his wife countered in dry rejoinder. "I'm a nurturer."

"Aww, man…" Sokka sighed in laughing contentment, surveying the surrounding faces of his friends and family. "It sure is good to be back with you guys. I missed this."

"Yeah…" Zuko breathed as everyone present nodded their agreement with Sokka for the first time in an hour. "We missed it too."

****

In the seven, bitter years that Long Feng had spent in the dank bowels of an Earth Kingdom prison, he'd had been afforded much time to think and plot and scheme. He had devised a number of ways to crush his enemies as powder beneath his feet, imagined a hundred different scenarios where he made them pay. He had thrived on his thirst for revenge, fed off of it like a tenacious parasite. The desire kept him alive, kept him sane. It kept him strong. In a surprising turn of events, however, he learned that time and circumstance had already accomplished a marvelous job of rendering his enemies little more than twitching stains on an earthen floor.

According to the rumors among the prison guards, the Dai Li were eventually disbanded, hunted and hated following the collapse of Ozai's empire and Princess Azula's lapse into insanity. He had also heard the rumors of a second uprising following the new Firelord's coronation and of the crushing defeat that had followed mere months after. The Dai Li that had not been taken into custody were scattered and forced into hiding. And if that kernel of knowledge weren't delicious enough, Long Feng then learned that princess was wasting away in some mental facility likely bathed in a pool of her own drool.

Somehow, in spite of his own grim circumstances, the information made the days in Long Feng's own dark cell pleasurable to him. It gave him supreme satisfaction, no…_unmitigated joy_ to know Azula suffered as he suffered, not only a prisoner to the Fire Nation, but to her own diabolical mind as well. Long Feng couldn't have imagined a more deserving punishment for her.

Yet, his hatred for her continued to grow. It festered. When he recalled the cold and precise manner with which she had usurped everything he had worked _years_ to accomplish, a mere child…a _female_ and in only a matter of weeks, he was filled with murderous rage. A reluctant admiration, but a sincere, deep loathing as well. His own agents, his precious agents had become the instruments of her betrayal. She had turned his own men against him and, to Long Feng, that was the most unforgivable sin of all.

Worse yet, the war ended and the Avatar prevailed and Long Feng continued forgotten in the metal box that held him. That bumbling excuse for an Earth King was restored to his throne, with newly forged alliances with the Fire Nation and Water Tribes and Long Feng continued forgotten. Ba Sing Se's great wall was slowly rebuilt and rose again over the sparse desert plains beyond the city and Long Feng was still _forgotten_.

He blamed her. He blamed Azula. In the years that elapsed following her fall, madness no longer seemed enough punishment for the Fire Nation princess. As far as Long Feng was concerned; only death seemed fitting.

However, he came to a point where he accepted that his plots and schemes would come to naught. He sat in his prison cell day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, waiting for an emancipation that didn't come, waiting for the favors he was owed by so many to be repaid, waiting to be remembered. He had been prepared to concede defeat, to die in that infernal box…and then JianJun had come to him.

When Long Feng had first glimpsed the face of his former right hand through the iron bars of his cell, he had been sure he was hallucinating. But all too soon he came to recognize that JianJun was no apparition, no product of madness. It was then that the wariness and suspicion had set in. What did JianJun want and why had he come _now_, after so many years of silence?

The Dai Li agent had asked for his help. He had informed Long Feng of the growing conflict within the Earth Kingdom's borders and the push to purge Fire Nation colonies from their territories. While the Avatar had done his utmost to promote and maintain peace in those regions, civil unrest continued to grow. Many Earth Kingdom citizens resented the influence and power the Firelord continued to wield in Earth Kingdom districts. A political divide had gradually split the Earth Kingdom in two, with those who were devoutly loyal to the Firelord and Avatar and those who wanted sever any and all authority the Firelord had within the nation's limits. The dissention had spread as far as Ba Sing Se and most of the populace had begun to call for the Earth King's, whose friendship with the Firelord and Avatar was widely known, removal from the throne. It was under these circumstances that JianJun came to Long Feng.

**

"_You can take back what is rightfully yours," JianJun told him. "Old enemies have become allies to unite in a common cause."_

"_Why me?" Long Feng wondered. "Why now?"_

"_Ba Sing Se was a formidable stronghold under your leadership," JianJun said. "People have not forgotten."_

"_And why should I trust you?" Long Feng considered._

"_Perhaps, you have enjoyed your time behind these dingy walls," Jian Jun countered. "If I have wasted your time then I apologize, Long Feng, sir."_

_Fearful that he would leave, Long Feng burst out, his words edged with desperation, "You were only too eager to betray me before! What is so different this time, JianJun?"_

"_The Dai Li made an error in judgment."_

"_An error?" Long Feng snorted derisively. "You were foolish and insolent! You turned your back on me and what success did you have as a result of your treachery? You followed a madwoman off into battle and rendered yourselves little more than hunted criminals!"_

"_I cannot change the past," JianJun replied, his features impassive. "We can only begin anew with the opportunity we have now, Long Feng."_

"_And what opportunity do we have now?" Long Feng asked him._

"_To be great again," JianJun replied. "So what do you want, sir? Do you wish to be great again?"_

**

Long Feng mused on the dizzying blur of the last few months as he reclined on his own bed for the first time in nearly a decade. The reality was almost too good to believe. Not only did he have the prospect of reclaiming Ba Sing Se but the very possibility of bringing the Fire Nation under his thumb as well. The friends that he had believed had abandoned him prior to his imprisonment had not left his side entirely, Long Feng learned. Many had gone into hiding following the war's end, while others had wisely made a show of loyalty towards the new regime. However, with Long Feng and JianJun's radical idea for change, forces Earth Kingdom wide were now quietly being mobilized for war. Plans to invade and dismantle the Fire Nation colonies were already in place and awaiting execution. Later, when the colonies had been purged from the Earth Kingdom for good, they would storm the borders of the Fire Nation itself and they would bring the firebenders to their knees.

However, while the plan was calculated and precise, Long Feng was not without reservations. There was still the matter of the Avatar. Once he learned of their plans, they would have a fight on their hands…a fight, Long Feng was sure, they would likely lose. However, when Long Feng expressed concern over that fact, JianJun hardly seemed alarmed. He assured Long Feng that the Avatar would be dealt with swiftly and effectively.

"You ready the Earth Kingdom for war," he'd told Long Feng. "Let me handle the rest."

"And are _you_ the one handling things, JianJun?" Long Feng had queried in response. "Or is there someone else who is a part of this scheme of yours?" The Dai Li agent hadn't answered, but there had been a flickering in his eyes that provoked Long Feng's shiver of discomfort. "Exactly when did you become so decisively ambitious?"

He hadn't received an answer to that question either and as Long Feng lay there in the flickering candlelight of his bedchamber, anticipation churning in the pit of his belly, that pertinent detail continued to trouble him.


	3. Chapter Two

**A/N: I make like three references to Iroph in this fic. None of those three involve kissing or touching, but it is evident they are in a relationship. The interaction is so miniscule, especially given the plot of this story, that I didn't see the point of mentioning it. However, if that is too much for some then you might want to go.**

**The thing is, this is a very involved story, which isn't primarily focused on romance, which means that when I **_**do**_** focus on it, it's going to involve my OTP…Kataang, which is what the M rating is for. Not for any other couple but them. Hope that helps.**

* * *

**Chapter Two**

"Can we talk?"

Zuko glanced up to find Aang regarding him with a most serious expression and he suppressed a resigned groan in response. The expression on Aang's face alone guaranteed that he was not going to like their conversation. His first instinct was to make an excuse and evade Aang's request altogether, but recognizing that would only succeed in delaying the inevitable, Zuko set aside his papers and beckoned Aang inside his study. After he stepped inside, the young Avatar closed the heavy, double doors securely behind him.

"You look serious," Zuko remarked casually, noting the grim set of Aang's jaw as the younger man regarded him.

"I guess that's because what I have to say to you is pretty serious," Aang replied.

Leaning back in his chair with an amused sigh, Zuko tapped his lips. "I wasn't aware you knew how to _be_ serious," he teased Aang. The young Avatar barely cracked a smile. That's how Zuko knew it was going to be bad. "I'm really not going to like this, am I?" he concluded with a heavy sigh. "Okay. Out with it."

"I'm think you already know why I want to talk," Aang prodded soberly.

"You know, this is supposed to be a happy occasion, Aang," Zuko replied in a mild tone. "I would expect _you_, of all people, to understand the merits of putting off business at a time like this. Aren't you the one who's always telling me there's a time for everything?"

"That's not fair," Aang countered with a small smile. "Besides, putting off business is something you would _never_ do. It's unlike you, Zuko, which probably means we definitely need to have this conversation."

"In a few days," Zuko suggested dismissively.

"I don't think we have a few days," Aang told him. "We need to resolve this now, Zuko." When his friend sighed, but said nothing, Aang continued, "You have to know that the conflicts in the Earth Kingdom are not lessening. Civil unrest has become the norm in some areas. There are even whispers of a formal split…and war."

"It won't come to that," Zuko said.

"What makes you so sure?" Aang challenged.

"You and I with Bumi and Kuei's help have done an excellent job of keeping those rebellions contained," Zuko said. "It will die down. They always do, only to resurge and die down again. This has been the cycle since the war ended, Aang. Why are you acting as if it's something new?"

"Zuko, it's not the same as it was in the beginning or even a year ago. People are beginning to question, not just your motives, but _mine_ as well," Aang stressed. "These are dangerous times. We need to make a decision."

"I won't do it," Zuko declared before Aang could say anything further. "We've had this discussion again and again and you already know how I feel about it. Pressuring me is not going to make me change my mind."

"And you know how I feel about it," Aang countered stubbornly. "I can do this with or without your help, Zuko, but the transition would run smoother if it came from you. I don't want us to be at odds about this."

"Neither do I," Zuko returned softly. "All I'm asking is that you wait a little longer. If, in a few months, the situation hasn't improved then I'll consider what you're suggesting. In the meantime, we'll simple double our efforts to crush this new wave of rebellions. We've done it before and we can do it again."

"Zuko, it's been _six_ years!" Aang replied in a sharpened tone full of exasperation. "Times have changed, my friend. There should be some semblance of peace in the Earth Kingdom by now, not more conflict. We're not dealing with a case of random rebels or even Ozai supporters here. These are Earth Kingdom citizens that once supported _us_! We don't have a choice anymore. You _have_ to disband the colonies in the Earth Kingdom. It's the only way we can bring peace to those provinces for good."

"No!" Zuko snapped indignantly. "NO! What you're asking me to do…" He trailed off with a rough swallow, briefly shutting his eyes before replying with a definitive, "I can't. I won't."

"Zuko, I know this won't be an easy decision for you."

"It's not just about that. Listen to me, Aang," Zuko pressed on urgently, "Since the war's end, I have done everything in my power to make amends for the damage the Fire Nation did. I have lent my troops, my time and my resources. I have withheld _nothing_ while my people are continually brutalized and barraged by Earth Kingdom attacks! They are mistreated and reviled and, despite the persecution they have suffered, the endless conflicts, they choose to remain in the Earth Kingdom. They are willing to _die_ to stay there because that is _their_ home now. If they are willing to endure so much to stay where they are, to keep what they have worked _decades_ to build, who am _I_ to take it away from them?"

"Their Firelord," Aang answered softly. "Zuko, bringing them home is not an injustice. It's way to establish peace. It's a protection, to them and to the Earth Kingdom citizens! How is it fair that your people remain in the Earth Kingdom, but live under Fire Nation law?"

"It _is_ an injustice, Aang!" Zuko retorted. "These people you're asking me to forcibly remove from their homes have done _nothing_ wrong! They are the victims! They have made their homes, their lives, their _livelihood_ in the Earth Kingdom and you want me to disperse thousands of people because a few can't deal with the idea of Fire Nation citizens residing and flourishing within Earth Kingdom borders? How is that right?"

"It's not that simple, Zuko, and you know it," Aang muttered wearily. "It's not just about your people's presence there, it's about the perceived authority you wield there…_in the Earth Kingdom_. Your colonies flourish and they push their borders all the time and, as they expand, the Fire Nation expands with them…_in the Earth Kingdom_! People are still very mistrustful and there are some who believe that the Fire Nation hasn't relinquished its hold there at all."

"You know that's not the case, Aang," Zuko ground out. "I protect my people! I don't abuse my power."

"I know that," Aang sighed. "I know you're not abusing your authority. But how does it look to the world? I don't want to fight with you, but we can't pretend this isn't a problem anymore."

"And what kind of message do you think that will send to our enemies, huh?" Zuko countered. "What's to keep them from thinking that all they have to do is exert a little pressure on us or be persistent enough with their attacks and we'll concede? We will look weak, Aang. The Fire Nation will look weak. How do you think my people will react to something like this? We have worked so hard to rebuild what we once had. As Firelord it is my duty to protect the rights of my citizens!"

"And as Avatar it's my duty to promote peace!" Aang retorted. "I'm trying to prevent a war, Zuko! Don't tie my hands! Please!"

"How am I tying _your_ hands? You're the one proposing to offer up the Fire Nation up as your sacrificial goat!" Zuko flung back sardonically. "That's brilliant, Aang! You're supposed to protect the world and _we're_ a part of the world too! Where's your benevolent feeling for us?"

"Don't do that," Aang muttered through clenched teeth. "Don't imply that I'm choosing sides, especially when you know I'm on _yours_!"

"Are you?" he challenged.

"If you seriously have to ask me that, then I don't know what to say to you," Aang mumbled, half in disappointment, half in hurt.

Closing his eyes briefly in regret of his harsh words, Zuko inhaled a calming breath and carefully planned what he would say next. "Aang, all I know is that we've have always managed in the past to get a handle on these kinds of things," he said. "I think you're acting prematurely on this."

"That's easy for you to say, Zuko," Aang bit out irritably. "But, I've been to the Earth Kingdom, remember? You're tucked away here in the Fire Nation palace, but I've been through the territories and I know how bad things are getting. I've seen it with my own eyes! The people want the Fire Nation out! There have even been revolts and assassination attempts against Bumi and Kuei over this! It's getting out of hand!"

"It's wrong," Zuko uttered. "What you want me to do is wrong."

"Zuko, come on…"

"It's wrong and you know it is!" Zuko fired again. "Don't try and sugarcoat it, Aang! Someone obviously has to lose here and you've decided it's _my_ people…when they've already suffered and are still suffering!"

"Don't talk to me like I don't care!" Aang shouted.

"Then act like it!" Zuko shouted back.

Aang had to stamp down the inclination to walk out right then and there. It was his mode of operations, after all. He'd much rather walk away than fall into an endless argument he knew he had no chance of winning. However, the urgency of the situation forced Aang to remain rooted in place, even when everything inside him was screaming just to ignore it and let it go.

Riddled with internal conflict, Aang shook his head sadly, sympathizing with Zuko's viewpoint even while he knew he couldn't support him. "I wish I could come up with a solution that was acceptable to you, Zuko," he sighed despondently. "But, as things stand now, you're placing me in a really bad position."

"And what do you think you're doing to me?" Zuko retorted hotly.

"Okay, okay…" Aang relented finally, unwilling to fall into yet another shouting match with him. "This discussion is obviously taking us in circles and, like I said before, I don't want to fight with you. Why don't we just table this whole thing until Bumi and Kuei arrive at the end of the week and we'll discuss our options then?"

"That's what I wanted from the start," Zuko replied in a moody tone. "Listen, we don't see each other nearly as much as I'd like. All I want is to spend time with you and my family. I'd rather not spoil it by us having the same, aggravating argument we've had for months now, especially before we _have_ to."

"We're going to have to settle it eventually, Zuko," Aang inserted reluctantly.

"And we will." Zuko strode forward and clapped a hand on Aang's shoulder, his eyes imploring. "But does it have to be today?"

"No," Aang sighed, his features splitting in an unguarded grin at his friend's implied offer for ceasefire. He laughed softly when Zuko hooked an arm about his neck in a gesture of brotherly affection. "I don't suppose it does."

****

"You look very pleased with yourself."

Though JianJun had been quiet, graceful and undeniably stealthy in his approach, Azula had sensed him long before he said a word. It was in the subtle shift of the wind against her cheek, the turn of shadow that fell across her forearm, the scattering of the birds and small wild life behind her. His surroundings betrayed his presence even without his making a sound.

"You knew I was back here the entire time, didn't you?" JianJun queried when she failed to respond to his observation.

Though Azula didn't turn her gaze from the crashing ocean waves beyond as he came around to sit alongside her on the moss covered, stone bench, her lips did curve with a ghost of a smile. "You did teach me well," she conceded.

"And you have been an exceptional student," he returned.

"I suppose I must compensate where I can," Azula considered bitterly, "being that I'm without bending now."

"Your bending does not make you who you are, Princess," JianJun insisted sincerely. "You are dynamic and wonderful even without it."

Azula favored him with a cynical, sideways glance. "Flattery won't mask the truth," she told him. "It's easy for you to be dismissive. _You_ still have your bending." He started to open his mouth, probably to ply her with a series of platitudes, but Azula held up her hand for silence. "It doesn't matter," she dismissed. "I don't wish to speak of it."

"Shall we discuss other matters then?"

"Like?" Azula prodded, sensing that his question was more than casual. He was looking to talk about something specific. "What is on your mind, JianJun?" she demanded shortly.

"You seem to be in good spirits this morning."

"And you know this because?" Azula challenged dryly. "Was it in the way I was contemplating the waves? Or perhaps you've added mind-reader to your many talents."

He wasn't dissuaded by her frosty response as he had learned long ago that Azula made herself vulnerable to no one. "You were smiling a moment ago." Though she made no flat denial of the charge, she didn't bother to validate his claim either. Instead, she surveyed him with unfathomable eyes. "I saw your mother leaving as I arrived."

"She didn't see you, did she?" Azula demanded in a flash of alarm. "Is that why you're acting so oddly?"

"No, I kept out of sight," JianJun reassured her swiftly. "It…it's only that I noticed she was smiling as she left and you seem…almost pleased. I can only imagine your visit with her went well then."

In truth, her visit with her mother had gone surprisingly well. Ursa had helped to brush her hair, had complemented her on how beautiful it had become…how beautiful _she_ had become. For that one, surreal hour, they had felt like a true mother and daughter. There had been no talk of Zuko, no noble attempts to "help" Azula see the error of her ways, no bitter tears or recriminations. There had only been her and her mother, enjoying one another's company for what seemed like the first time ever. The visit had left Azula shaken and reflective.

There was a part of her that was unquestionably happy, but then there was also part of her that was ridiculously frightened. Her mother was slowly beginning to batter down the emotional wall of ice surrounding Azula's heart and _no one_ had ever been successful in doing so. Azula wasn't sure she wanted that to change either.

"Apparently, JianJun," she remarked in an icy tone, "I've given you to the mistaken impression that I'm willing to share these kinds of things with you. We don't have that type of relationship."

"You share other things with me, Princess," JianJun pointed out in a soft, deliberate manner.

"Just because you occasionally have access to my body does not mean my mind is an open field for you, JianJun," Azula informed him with a glacial stare. "Remember your place."

"And what is my place with you, princess?" JianJun queried boldly, sadly.

"Wherever I wish it to be," she told him, abruptly bunching her hands in the loose material of his tunic and pulling him forward for a possessive kiss. It took only a few seconds before he yielded to her advances, his earlier annoyance with her forgotten. When she pulled back JianJun was regarding her with glazed eyes full of besotted devotion. In an unguarded moment, Azula found herself wishing that she could feel something more for him than the occasional flash of admiration, but then quickly grew annoyed with herself because the idea had even occurred to her at all.

Frowning, she composed herself and dismissed the kiss from her mind altogether. "Tell me of your progress with Long Feng."

While his disappointment over her abrupt switch from passion to business was evident, JianJun dutifully answered her question. "We have an army now."

"And I'm sure Long Feng thinks he controls that army," Azula laughed to herself.

"For the time being, he does," JianJun said. "However, once you reveal your hand, he won't have their loyalty for very long. You will have the entire Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation at your feet…just as you should."

"Good," Azula replied. "In the meantime, let Long Feng keep that happy delusion. It will make the look on his face when he discovers he's been little more than my puppet all the sweeter."

As Fire Nation royalty, and one of questionable sanity at that, Azula did not have much clout with Earth Kingdom officials and she knew that. But Long Feng, despite his brief stint in prison, did. He had connections more far reaching than either she or JianJun had anticipated. When the time was right, she would reveal herself to him and "convince" him of the many merits of taking her on as a partner. Once that happened, Long Feng's allies would become her allies. She would earn their fealty by default and once they learned of the power she held, once she persuaded them to see the wisdom in following her rather than Long Feng, she would have their loyalty by design as well. And Long Feng…he would be of no further use to her.

"Are you ready to proceed then, Princess?" JianJun asked her, interrupting her self-satisfied musings.

"Yes, it's time," Azula replied. "Both things must be taken care of quietly and quickly. It won't be enough to have the Avatar if we don't destroy all means of finding him afterwards. I'm trusting you with this, JianJun. Do not disappoint me."

"It will be done just as you have specified, Princess," JianJun replied with a deferential nod. "Shall we put it all in motion tonight then?"

Azula smiled at him. "Yes. Tonight would be excellent."

****

"So how did it go?" The sour look Aang tossed her as he dragged into their bedchamber was answer enough for Katara. "I suppose that means not very well," she muttered under her breath.

"I don't really want to talk about it," Aang said, slumping down into the nearest chair. Anxiety and defeat were etched into every line of his body and, for that reason Katara simply could not let it go.

"Surely, Zuko saw the reason behind your proposal," she insisted in spite of his weary dismissal. "He has to realize there's no other choice. I'm sure he's mad right now, but he'll get over it."

"Really, Katara. I don't want to talk about it," Aang emphasized.

"Listen, I know you're upset," she cajoled, crossing the room to take the spot behind his chair to begin massaging away the stiff tension from his shoulders. "It couldn't have been easy, especially given how Zuko feels about it, but it needed to be done, Aang. In time, he'll…he'll understand. I know he will."

"I didn't tell him," Aang confessed reluctantly.

Katara's nimble fingers came to a sudden halt. "What?"

Mentally preparing himself for her lecture, Aang shrugged out from beneath her hands and twisted a look around at his speechless wife. "I didn't tell him the decision was already made," he reiterated softly. "I…I tried, but I couldn't do it. I didn't have the heart." At Katara's disappointed sigh, he added plaintively, "Don't be angry with me."

"We had an agreement, Aang," she reminded him softly. "You said you wouldn't put it off for too long."

"I know…I know…"

From the moment he left Ba Sing Se, Aang had known what he had to do. Dread over what awaited him had eaten away at him and Katara had been miserable to see him so miserable. When he had begged her not to say anything to Zuko, she had complied. When he had made it clear that he wanted a few days, at least, to enjoy being with their friends before tackling the more serious issues, she had complied but with the stipulation that, when he did talk to Zuko, he would inform his friend of his decision to disband the colonies.

Katara surveyed him with sad eyes, not so much disappointed as she was worried that he was going to cause himself more pain than necessary. "Aang…"

Before she could even finish the admonishment, he leapt from his chair and began pacing the polished length of the marbled floor. "I know what you're going to say," he rushed out. "But I had a valid reason, okay! I didn't want to just go in there and lay it on him! I…I was hoping that maybe he would see my side of things…that maybe he would agree with me and then—,"

"—You're doing it again," Katara interrupted gently. "You know that, right? You're avoiding your problems rather than facing them head on, Aang."

"Is it so wrong that I just want to enjoy this visit?" Aang cried defensively. "Zuko doesn't want to fight and neither do I!"

"And neither of you are doing the other any favors by avoiding this!" Katara flashed back. "Whether you talk about it or not, something has to be done. You can't afford to waffle about this and if you can't tell him, then exactly how solid are you in the decision?"

"Don't you think I know that, Katara?" Aang fired back. "None of this is easy for me! I know what I need to do, okay! I don't need you reminding me every ten seconds!"

Katara snapped to attention with his sharp retort, as if he had slapped her. "Fine. I'm sorry I said anything," she replied in a tight tone. "I'll stay out of it from now on." She turned away from him then to begin compulsively straightening their bed linens, mutinously blinking back the hurt tears that sprang to her eyes. Moments later, she stiffened slightly when he slipped his arms around her waist and pull her back against the solid wall of his body.

"I'm sorry," he whispered regretfully against her ear. "I didn't mean that. I know you're just trying to help me."

Her anger and resentment leaking from her chest in an expansive sigh, Katara turned against his chest. She leaned into him, plucking idly at the front of his wrap. "It's okay," she mumbled. "You're scared. I get that. I know better than to push you to talk about something when you don't want to do it."

"I still shouldn't have snapped your head off," Aang sighed.

"Agreed," Katara conceded with teary giggle. She tipped her head back to smile at him. "I forgive you."

"Thank you."

"So now that you've let off some steam, are you feeling better?" Katara asked.

"Not really. It's not about the decision," Aang explained. "I'm afraid of how he'll react. This is the first major disagreement we've had since becoming friends. Up until this point, we've had a like mind about how to proceed with rebuilding the world. I…I don't know how it's going to go between us after this."

"Zuko's your friend," Katara reminded him gently. "He loves you. He'll eventually come around."

"Yeah…maybe," Aang muttered glumly, unconvinced. He moved to perch himself on the edge of the bed, shaking his head in grim contemplation. "I guess I've just been preparing myself for the possibility that we might not be friends after this," he confessed sadly. "That's why I've been putting it off."

"That's not going to happen, Aang."

"You don't know that," he refuted mournfully.

She reached out to frame his face in her hands, gently coaxing his despondent gaze to her resolved one. "It is _not_ going to happen," she declared with absolute conviction.

"I really want to believe you," Aang whispered.

"Then believe me," Katara insisted, brushing a tender kiss across the tip of his arrow. She lingered against his skin, feathering her lips across his eyes and kissing away the droplets of unshed tears clinging to his lashes. She nuzzled against his mouth, glancing his lips with soft kisses. "It won't happen, Aang," she murmured again, expelling a small sigh of relief when he finally began to respond to her coaxing. His fingers slipped inside the folds of her robe to stroke the bare skin beneath. Their clothing rustled and whispered as they shifted closer and their kiss deepened.

"I love you," Aang murmured into her mouth as he pulled her down against him.

"I know. I love you too."


	4. Chapter Three

**A/N: Okay, the second part of this chapter is mature content. So, if you wish to avoid it, just cut out after the stars, lol. You have been warned.**

**As for Sokka, he doesn't have any real problem with Kataang. He was just messing with them because he could. In other words, I did it for the lulz. You'll have a better understanding of why as we get deeper into this story.**

* * *

**Chapter Three**

"Hey, is that your giant mole outside?"

June flicked a disinterested glance at the short, drunken lout who had dared to approach her, arching a single, black brow in challenge. "Beat it, Stumpy. Not interested."

He favored her with a crooked grin, throwing up his grubby hands in surrender. "I'm just asking."

"Who wants to know?"

"Just thought you'd like to know there's some earthbender outside trying to take it," the man provided flatly.

He had barely finished the sentence before the slender young woman was scraping back her chair and dashing outside, whip at the ready. By the time she burst from the tavern's exit, June was able to quickly access that Nyla already had the situation under control. Through a barrage of shattered rock, flipping bodies and the shirshu's flicking tongue, June could see six of Nyla's attackers already lying, paralyzed, on the ground. A seventh man had managed to get a harness around her neck and was evading the cataleptic effects of Nyla's lash quite nicely. However, a sharp, defiant jerk of the shirshu's neck abruptly snapped the man off the ground and sent him catapulting over her head and into the thicket of trees beyond with a plaintive wail.

Smiling her approval, June propped her fists against her slim hips and surveyed the damage Nyla had done with proud eyes. "Nyla," she tsked with a laugh. "Are you being naughty? Good girl." With June remark, the attackers' attention was drawn to her. Her dark eyes flashed with anticipation and challenge. She cracked her whip in preparation. "Let's do this, gentlemen."

The first wave of earthen fists she took out with a deft flick of her wrist, disintegrating them mid-air to create a punishing spray of rocks and dirt. As her attackers diversified, splitting apart to flank her from all sides, June curled and twisted her lithe body in a series of acrobatic contortions. She fluidly avoided their earthbending assaults and the errant flicks of Nyla's tongue as the shirshu made every effort to protect her.

Finally, June found herself isolated far from Nyla and going head to head with a more formidable opponent while the rest of his group went about the business of subduing an incensed Nyla. The man easily danced out from beneath the punishing snap of her whip by submerging himself below ground only to reemerge in a completely different location to launch his next attack. June growled her frustration.

"No fair!" she panted, slowly rotating the clearing in cautious surveillance for her adversary, who had vanished on her once again. "Why don't you try fighting me without your fancy earthbending?" she challenged.

The taunt hadn't complete passed her lips before he was materializing directly behind her, catching the coil of her whip, mid-swing, in his gloved hand. June smirked at him. "Impressive." She hooked her foot around his ankle and swept him off his feet. Caught unawares, he hit the ground with a bone-rattling thud. "Not impressive enough though."

She darted away from him, intent on scattering Nyla's would be attackers so they could make her getaway, only to find herself locked to the knees in earth. Without warning, the earth swelled beneath her feet and she was launched against him. She snapped her whip again, only to find herself deftly tangled in the coiling tail of her own weapon when he executed a smooth evasion around her.

"There," he said in a low tone. "And I did it _without_ my fancy earthbending."

Seeing her master subdued, Nyla bellowed in outrage. However, when she snapped out her tongue the earthbender was ready for her assault. In one, fluid motion, he spun June into the line of fire and, within seconds, the bounty hunter was crumpled at his feet. "Get that beast under control!" he shouted to his men. "But don't harm it!" When he was satisfied his men had a firm handled on the situation, he knelt alongside a fallen June.

"You know…" she drawled casually as he began to bind her more securely in spite of her disabled state, "…I'm usually the one who likes to do the binding. If you weren't on my bad side, I might be willing to overlook this little oversight on your part."

His inscrutable features flickered with near imperceptible amusement. "Don't bother. I'm already taken."

"Eh, please," she scoffed with a bored sigh. "I wouldn't have you anyway. If you need more than a dozen men just to take down little old me, you're not worth my time!"

Pointedly ignoring her jabs at his masculinity, her captured tested the security of her bounds and then unceremoniously hoisted her body upright. "Your shirshu won't be harmed, if that's your concern," he reassured her. "It simply has something we want."

"So I figured," June retorted sardonically. "The small army makes it obvious. Just so you know…she doesn't like to be caged, so good luck with that."

"I'll take it easy on her," her captor promised.

"You should hope _she_ takes it easy on _you_," June countered sarcastically.

A moment later, one of his panting comrades materialized at his side and passed him a small, green vial filled with liquid. "This was all we were able to extract for now," the man said. "We can get more once the beast is sedated and under control."

"See what you can manage without harming it," June's captor warned. "The Princess wants it alive."

"Her name is Ny-Lah," June enunciated defiantly. "Though I can understand why such a big word might prove to be a problem for you!"

Once again dismissing her dripping vitriol, her captor inspected the vial before turning a glance up at his companion. "This should be enough," he decided. "We don't want to kill him…_yet_."

"Should we load up the animal now?"

"Yes," he replied. "Take _Nyla_," he continued with a meaningful glance towards June, "and the injured and get them into the caravan. They'll be no good to us for an hour or so and there's still much to do tonight."

"And her?" his comrade asked, flicking a glance over at June. "What do we do with her?"

"Take her back to camp as well," JianJun determined as he rose to his feet. "I suspect our bounty hunter here will prove to be a great source of amusement."

"If that amusement involves me kicking you all over the Earth Kingdom then you'd be right about that," June flung out in challenge.

As June continued to dish out the verbal abuse, his companion pulled him aside and asked in a low whisper, "What happens now?"

"I secure our future, my friend," JianJun replied. "And liberate our princess."

****

Aang was jostled abruptly from his sleep by a sharp rapping on their bedchamber door. With a drowsy grunt, he lifted his head from Katara's naked back and frowned. A quick glance at the window confirmed the sun had set long ago. Moonlight was already filtering in through the heavy, brocade curtains and spilling across the floor. Given the lateness of the hour, Aang had a difficult time determining which one of their friends had decided on a visit. Toph, he guessed with a broad yawn. She liked to be annoying just for the fun of it.

"Go away, Toph!" he called out, settling back against Katara and snuggling closer.

The knock sounded again, a bit hesitantly this time. "Avatar Aang, I have an urgent message for you."

His frown returned when the voice on the other side of the door didn't prove to be Toph at all. Aang gingerly pushed himself upright, careful not to wake his wife, and pushed his spent body from the bed. He paused briefly to scoop up his robes to wrap the lower half of his body before continuing towards the door. When he cracked it open just a fraction, he discovered a lone servant waiting for him out in the dimly lit corridor. Aang surveyed him with a questioning look.

"My apologies for disturbing you at this late hour, Avatar," he murmured contritely.

"S'okay. What is it?" Aang asked in a mumble, his voice slightly hoarse with sleep.

"You received this message a little while ago," the servant said, passing Aang the tiny rolled scroll. "It has the Earth King's seal. I thought you might want it right away."

"Thank you."

After he closed the door, Aang used firebending to light a row of candles on a nearby desk so that he could read the message. As the room flickered to life with the tiny, dancing flames, Aang noticed Katara starting to wake. She contorted her body in a lazy stretch before propping herself up onto her elbow to regard him. In the firelight, she had never looked more beautiful to him, hair disheveled from sleep and lovemaking, her eyes drowsily half-mast.

"What are you doing out of bed?" she wondered sleepily. "What's going on?"

"It's a message from Kuei," Aang answered distractedly as he began to scan the scroll.

"What about?" Katara wondered, scooting towards the edge of the bed closest to him with piqued interest.

Aang's features creased in a pensive scowl. "He says he wants me to come to Ba Sing Se right away," he recited aloud. "There is urgent business we need to discuss."

"Isn't he going to arrive later this week?" Katara asked in bewilderment. "Can't it wait until then?"

Aang shrugged, turning the brief letter over in his hands. "I guess not," he considered. "That's all it says." He heaved a resigned sigh. "I should probably get ready then."

With a disappointed sigh, Katara untangled herself from the sheets and slipped from the bed. "I'll get our things together." While she had grown accustomed to the itinerant existence that came with being the Avatar's mate, Katara would be dishonest if she said she didn't lament their inability to stay in one place for very long sometimes. She felt especially disappointed this time because she had been so excited over the prospect of spending time with their friends and the new babies.

Sensing her unspoken feelings on the matter, Aang set aside the note and caught hold of her forearm when she would have shrugged into her robe. "You should stay here," he suggested quietly.

For a brief second, Katara's eyes flashed with the possibility before she shook her head in refusal. "No," she determined. "My place is with you. I want to be with you."

"Katara, I won't likely be longer than a few days anyway," Aang reasoned softly. "We need to return by the end of the week, regardless. There's no reason you have to go with me."

"But don't you want me to go?" she queried.

"I always want you with me," Aang replied fervently. "But I know how excited you were about coming here, about seeing Sokka and spending time with everyone. I don't want to ruin that for you."

She cupped his jaw, stroking her fingers along his chin, her lips curving in a small smile. "You can't ruin anything for me, Aang."

He returned her smile, his expression a mixture of affection and sorrow before he tugged her hand from his face and brought her knuckles to his lips for a brief kiss. "I still think you should stay here," he insisted softly.

Uncertain, Katara nibbled her upper lip in consideration of his offer. "Are you sure?"

"If you're asking if I'd rather us be together, then yes…I want you with me," he said, pulling her against him which prompted her to band her arms around him in a tight embrace, "but I want to see you smile more and being here with our friends makes you smile. Stay here and have fun. I'll be back before you know it."

"You're _really_ sure about this?" she prodded. "You won't feel neglected or like I'm abandoning you?"

"Katara, please," Aang laughed, despite the fact that he would feel a tiny bit abandoned and neglected, but that was only because he sometimes struggled with the inclination to be possessive of the time he spent with her. He was working on it though. "If I'm not back in a few days, then I'll send for you," Aang told her. "I promise."

She hugged him tighter, rubbing her cheek lovingly against the bare expanse of his chest. "I'm going to miss you so much," she murmured. "I can't remember the last time we were apart from each other longer than a few hours."

"This could be a good thing then. Don't they say absence makes the heart grow fonder?" Aang wondered aloud.

Katara tipped a frowning look up at him. "Who's they?"

"I dunno," he replied with a shrug. "Wise people? Lonely people? People who don't want to leave the ones they love and so they try and look on the bright side?"

She snorted a laugh, giving him a playful shove. "Wow, you're a regular fount of knowledge," she teased him.

He favored her with a lopsided grin. "It's a gift."

"Well, I don't need to be apart from you to love you more and more every day, Aang," she whispered. "It's just a natural thing."

"If you keep saying stuff like that I won't be able to leave you at all," he murmured, his breath stirring warmly against her lips.

"Well…" Katara drawled out, leaning up on her toes to give him the kiss she knew he was fishing for, "…maybe that's the general idea."

As her tongue courted his in sensual forays, Katara's fingers drifted deliberately to the wrap around his waist, tugging at the makeshift knot so that the swathe of orange cloth came loose and pooled at Aang's feet. He emitted a low gasp when Katara began to fondle him gently. Unconsciously, Aang leaned into her body as he gradually hardened under her stroking ministrations. His hands hovered above her shoulders, as he was caught between the desire to pull her closer and push her away. She peppered light kisses across his chest.

"Kat…tar…rah," he gasped in a disjointed groan of pleasure, thrusting into her hands even as he protested, "…you…kn-know…I have to…g-go…"

"Hmm, I know…" she murmured, tugging him back towards the bed with a feline smile. "I'm just trying to give you a proper send off."

"Well, if it's in the interest of saying goodbye…" he breathed out in a soft laugh, following her descent as she reclined back against the bed. He stretched out over her, leaning up on his elbow to brush her hair back from her face with his free hand. "I don't want to leave you, Katara," he confessed soberly.

"And I don't want you to leave," Katara whispered, suddenly seized by the irrational fear that she would never see him again if he did. She stroked her fingers lightly along the bare juncture of his shoulder before lifting her apprehensive stare to his solemn one. "Stay with me until morning, okay?"

Aang didn't make the promise because he knew that he couldn't, but then he also couldn't refuse her either. Instead he kissed her, sweeping his tongue into her mouth as he shifted atop of her completely. She groaned at the contact their skin made, wrapping her legs around his waist to pull him closer. Mouths still fused, they began undulating against one another in slow, sinuous motion.

Acutely aware of their limited time together as well as spurred on by their own eagerness to be joined, Aang and Katara dispensed with the preliminaries. Panting in anticipation, Katara reached down between them to help guide him towards her center. He breached her body in one, sure stroke, groaning aloud at the sensation caused when he was surrounded by her fierce inner heat. As he began to roll his hips against her, penetrating her deeply again and again, their impassioned groans of mutual gratification mingled.

They rocked together in the ageless rhythm, clutching, moaning and gasping. Their lovemaking was unreserved, intense…as if they had been lovers for a thousand years in a thousand different lifetimes. Aang smoothed a hand down the rounded curve of Katara's bare hip, bringing her leg higher against him so that he could stroke inside her unencumbered, so that he could gain as much access to her as he wanted. She encouraged him with softly whispered words, her breath stirring in steamy puffs of breath against his ear.

He touched deeper, pushed higher than he ever had before, driven by the uncontainable need to fill her up, the insatiable drive to give her the same screaming delight she gave him. The sheets rustled and twisted around their straining bodies. The silence of their bedchamber was split with their ecstatic moans of pleasure and the rhythmic knocking of the headboard against the wall. They climaxed together in a sudden, gasping rush, lips, hands, bodies and hearts fused as one.

When it was over, Katara lay curled in his arms, drawing lazy circles in circles in the middle of his chest with her index finger while Aang drifted somewhere between sleep and wakefulness. She listened to the steady, even thumping of his heart, marveling over just how much she adored him. In the quiet and perfect wonder of the moment, it seemed right to whisper, "I think I want to have a baby."

Aang's eyes flashed wide with the statement, sleep instantly forgotten. "Whu-what? What did you say?"

Katara shifted around to prop herself against his chest so she could look directly into his eyes when she said, "I want to have a baby, Aang."

"A baby?" he repeated carefully.

"Yes," she confirmed with a laughing smile. "I want to have your child."

"O…kay," Aang replied slowly. "When did you decide this?"

"I don't know," she answered with a light shrug. "It just came to me. I'm ready, Aang." When he continued to stare at her in dumbfounded shock she added a little defensively, "Well, it's not like we never planned to have children, right?"

"Yeah…yeah, I always figured we would have kids someday," Aang conceded. "I just didn't think you meant _now_."

"Well, what's wrong with now?" Katara demanded a little huffily.

"Katara, we just got married two months ago," Aang pointed out, as if he believed that should have been explanation enough for her.

It wasn't. Not in the least little bit. "What has that got to do with anything?" she challenged. "We've been together for six years, Aang!"

"Yeah…but…" Aang hedged uncomfortably.

"But what?"

"Zuko and Mai waited four years before they decided to have a kid," he pointed out.

Katara scowled at him. "We're not Zuko and Mai," she countered. "And I definitely don't want to wait _four years_."

"Doesn't it…I don't know…seem a little soon to you?" Aang wondered. "I mean technically we don't even have a place to stay, not that we'd stay in it very long if we did."

"And that's the point," Katara argued. "You're always going to be the Avatar. If you're waiting for the perfect time for us to have a baby then it's never going to come, Aang. You know that, right?" He didn't have a response for that and, consequently, merely lay there regarding her with a contemplative frown. "What's the problem? Does it seem too soon to you?" she asked, turning his question back around on him.

Aang opened his mouth to answer her, only to snap it shut a second later when he realized he didn't have a ready answer for that question either. It wasn't that he hadn't considered having children with Katara. He had, many times in fact, but always in the abstract, always in the sense that it was something far off into the future. Aang was well aware that if he didn't want his race to die out completely, he would have to reproduce. However, even with that critical prospect hanging over his head, it had never been something that claimed the focus of his attention before or after he married Katara. Instead, he had been content merely to spend time with her, to bask in her beautiful smile, to be loved by her. Those blessings were more than enough for Aang. Children, when they came, _if_ they came…had been only a distant thought.

But now that she had opened the discussion, now that he was _really_ thinking about it, Aang discovered something amazing. He wanted to. He _wanted_ to have a baby with Katara. A little awed by the realization, he breathed out in absolute wonderment, "Yeah."

Katara's blue eyes flickered with disappointment, crestfallen because she took his soft answer to be in response to her earlier question. "Oh…" she uttered thickly.

However, when she tried to roll away from him, Aang tightened his arms around her. "Yeah, Katara," he reiterated again, smiling at her with unabashed adoration. "I want to have a baby with you."


	5. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

Long Feng was profoundly annoyed.

On the surface, he truly had no reason to be. The last few months of his life had seemed like a gift from the Spirits themselves and he had been blessed in countless ways. After years of bitter imprisonment, he was finally free. He had power and respect. He was gradually regaining the position of prominence and influence he'd held prior to Ba Sing Se's fall and yet…he couldn't banish the pervading sense of aggravation he felt. He could not shake his instinctive feeling that something was wrong. It had all seemed too easy, too perfect, too convenient. On one hand, he felt he was being overly analytical and on the other…he had the distinct impression he should watch his back.

Long Feng's unwavering suspicion in that area centered on one, pertinent fact: JianJun was nowhere to be found. In fact, the chief head of the Dai Li was very rarely found these days. He came and went as he pleased, which frustrated Long Feng tremendously. Even though it had been years since he'd been JianJun's "technical" superior, there was part of Long Feng that still expected the master earthbender to be in anticipation of his every command. But, obviously, a great many things had changed during the time he'd been in prison.

Logically, Long Feng understood that he couldn't expect that his influence over the Dai Li to be the same as it had been prior to his incarceration and he wasn't certain he wanted it either. He couldn't afford to become complacent. Though they readily carried out his orders and made a remarkable outward show of loyalty and support, Long Feng still did not trust them. Not as he once had and never that way again. That dynamic had been irrevocably changed when they'd chosen to abandon him to follow after the Fire Nation princess. He received some satisfaction in knowing they had paid dearly for the blunder, and he made absolutely sure they did not forget it, but it was hardly enough.

Now that the Dai Li had revealed their tendencies towards duplicity, he would never again regard them the way he once had. His brief association with Princess Azula had taught him much. In the quest for power, in the ascent to complete domination, no one could be trusted and there were no true friends. He would use the Dai Li to build his envisioned empire and then he would discard them…just as easily as they had once discarded him. The calculating thoughts were still swirling in his head when he stepped inside his private study to greet General Fong.

Upon his entrance, the general rose to his feet respectfully though he did not bother to mask his supreme annoyance over Long Feng's tardiness. "I've been waiting for nearly an hour!" he barked as Long Feng took a seat behind his desk. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were intentionally late."

"And exactly what purpose would that serve?" Long Feng challenged. "We are allied for the same cause, are we not, Fong? Why would I wish to antagonize you?"

"Why indeed?" The general resumed the seat adjacent to Long Feng with wary appraisal. He stroked his beard, clearly caught between suspicion and curiosity. "It's difficult to imagine you supporting anyone besides yourself, Long Feng."

"What can I say?" his nemesis replied. "Prison changes a man."

"Sometimes not for the better," General Fong countered pointedly. "You never had a problem before turning your back on our efforts to purge the Fire Nation from our soil. I can remember many times when we requested aid, only to be ignored. Ba Sing Se was your sole and chief concern. What has changed?"

"As I said," Long Feng reiterated, "I'm not the same man I was seven years ago and Ba Sing Se is no longer mine."

"It was never _yours_ in the first place," General Fong reminded him with sardonic glee.

Long Feng lowered his eyes, concealing the leaping anger banked there. "Very true," he conceded in a soft murmur. "And, rest assured, I have learned my lesson. There are greater issues than my pride at stake here."

"But war…it's an ambitious prospect, don't you think?" General Fong queried. "My troops are willing to do what must be done, but none are eager for more bloodshed."

"Sometimes blood must be shed so that freedom can be won," Long Feng said.

"Spoken like a man who has never seen the reality of a battlefield," Fong muttered.

"I am no soldier," Long Feng admitted. "That much is true. But I am a pragmatist and war is not an impossible prospect. We are building a large army and we outnumber Fire Nation soldiers six to one. Victory is in our favor."

"You forget one small detail," the general inserted tersely. "The Avatar. Once he catches wind of this, everything we have worked to build won't amount to anything. I've heard rumors that he is in favor of our cause. Wouldn't it be more advantageous to wait for _him _to act?"

"The Avatar values his friendship with Firelord Zuko too much to do a thing in the Earth Kingdom's favor," Long Feng scoffed. "If he were going to make a change, he would have done so by now."

"Still, it seems an unnecessary risk," General Fong persisted. "Aren't we just setting ourselves up for failure?"

"The Avatar is not infallible," Long Feng considered. "He's barely a man and he's only _one_ man."

"A very powerful man," Fong interjected.

"And he has weaknesses," Long Feng returned smoothly. "Just as we all do. All we need to do is learn how to exploit those weaknesses to our advantage."

"I wouldn't suggest using the waterbender," General Fong said. "Believe me when I tell you that you'll bite off far more than you can chew going that route."

"The Avatar is the least of my concerns at the moment," Long Feng said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "We will deal with him when the time comes. Presently, we need to focus our attention on gathering our forces as quickly and as quietly as we can."

"Is it really necessary to raise such an army just to drive them out," General Fong asked hesitantly. "It seems to me that we are courting disaster. I want the Fire Nation purged from our lands, but I don't think it's necessary to take such a strong armed approach. We don't need another full out war."

"General Fong, you disappoint me," Long Feng tsked. "When did you start thinking so small? This isn't merely about driving them from our borders. This is about crushing our oppressor, once and for all. We _want_ a war."

"What are you saying?" Fong whispered, impressed and terrified all at once.

"We're going to launch a full scale invasion of the Fire Nation," Long Feng declared. "And once we're there, we're going to bring them to their knees."

****

Katara rolled over in bed, expecting to encounter Aang's warm body next to her but, instead, finding cold, empty space. Her eyes flashed open in a panic, his name spilling from her lips as she bolted upright. The room was already alight with the dusky, ginger haze of daybreak, the candles from the previous night long since extinguished. Katara scanned the room for some sign of Aang, her heart lurching in disappointment when she realized his clothing and staff were gone. Though she knew on some level the effort was futile, she tore back the covers with the half-formed idea of seeking him out when she noticed the neatly placed note lying on the pillow next to her.

Feeling heartsick and strangely hollow, Katara lifted the scrap of parchment and unrolled it. "You looked so peaceful," she read aloud. "I didn't want to wake you. I'll be back in a few days. Love, Aang." Left more saddened by his goodbye note rather than cheered, Katara flopped back against the bed with a billowing sigh before rolling onto her side to hug his pillow close to her body. She pressed her nose into the downy softness. His scent still lingered there. Katara squeezed the pillow harder, only to feel like a sentimental idiot seconds later when she realized what she was doing.

"Ugh," she grunted, discarding the pillow and flipping onto her back once more. "Katara, you're pathetic!"

It wasn't as if Aang didn't go on Avatar related missions all the time. It came with the territory. The world would sound the call and Aang would always answer. That was his destiny, the responsibility he had been preordained to carry. It had always been that way since the moment they met and it would always be that way until Aang's duties as the Avatar, in this life, ended. By now, Katara figured she would have gotten used to that fact.

_Yeah_, a little voice reminded her, _but his going on this mission isn't the problem. The problem is…you didn't go with him this time._

"So what?" Katara grumbled aloud. "It's probably good that we spend time apart anyway. Being married doesn't mean we need to be locked at the hip, right?"

_But_, the voice piped in, _he's your best friend. That's how best friends work. You're supposed to spend time together._

"Yeah, Aang _is _my best friend," Katara acknowledged, "but even best friends need to do stuff separately sometimes. I _do_ have my own life, you know?"

_Sure you do_, her inner voice patronized sweetly, _that's why you were hugging his pillow a moment ago._

"Oh, just shush up," Katara muttered, turning face down into the mattress with a despondent groan.

The crux of it was that Katara's feelings of disquietude went far beyond merely missing Aang. Yes, there was an ache in her heart and she felt lonely and displaced without him, as he likely felt without her, but…there was something else troubling her. Something that went beyond the sadness of waking up alone. The creeping feeling of foreboding that had taken root in her heart the night before had not lessened with the dawn of morning. If anything, Katara felt more apprehensive than she had before.

She didn't know if it was simply a manifestation of loneliness or if she was truly sensing imminent danger. Whatever it was, Katara was filled with dread and the niggling certainty that she should have gone with Aang to Ba Sing Se after all.

****

The courtyard was showered with a hail of whizzing arrows. Yet, Zuko didn't even flinch as he cooed sweetly to his youngest son cradled in one arm, while he rocked his oldest, sleeping soundly in his bassinet, with his free hand even though missiles sailed overhead from all directions. As the metal tipped artillery found hit their marks with muffled thunks, the young Firelord didn't even consider running for cover. He had every confidence that neither he nor his sons would be hit unless they were specifically the target and Zuko knew that was far from the case. The Yu Yan archers had sworn their allegiance to him years ago and now served as his personal, royal guards. If that fact weren't enough to garner his trust, his own wife had now joined their elite ranks as well.

However, what failed to cause Zuko to even bat an eyelash had his mother flying out into the courtyard in a flurry of red skirts and outright panic. "Zuko, what are you doing!" she cried. "You could have been killed! The babies could have been killed!"

"Mom, it's fine," he dismissed lightly between nuzzling his small sons. "We weren't in any danger. Besides, the sounds the arrows make as they split the air totally calm them down. They love it."

Ursa gaped at him. "_Have you lost your mind?_"

Torn between laughter and contrition over the realization that he had obviously frightened her, Zuko calmly went about the business of hushing Ursa's strident admonishments about his putting the babies in danger. Meanwhile Mai, who had been concealed in the hanging tree branches above, dropped down from her hiding place with the stealthy, predatory grace of a cat. She was adored in sleek black, her dark hair pulled back from her face in a tight, practical bun, her strike face streaked with camouflage paint, her archery bow slung casually over her right shoulder. Following her unspoken cue, her fellow archers began dropping out of their well chosen hiding places as well.

As the archers dispersed, Mai surveyed her mother-in-law with a laughing look. "You know, I wasn't going to hit them, Ursa," she informed dryly. "My aim is extremely precise."

"It's true. She never misses, Mom," Zuko heralded proudly with a besotted smile in his wife's direction. "She's amazing."

The reassurances did little to soothe Ursa's frayed nerves. She stared at them both as if she firmly believed they'd taken leave of their senses. Her next words only further backed the expression on her face. "You two are utterly _insane_!" she cried, bending low to scoop her grandsons into her protective embrace. "Come with your grandmother, my loves. Mommy and Daddy have obviously been out in the hot sun too long." Before Zuko or Mai could even protest she had already scurried back inside the palace with both the babies cradled against her bosom, muttering the entire way about "young people" and their penchant for "stupidity."

Mai dropped down into Zuko's lap and feathered a kiss across his lips. "You know we're going to hear about that later, right?" she told him.

"She'll get over it," he sighed. "You know nothing we do for them is ever good enough anyway. Sometimes, I think she'd just rather push us aside entirely and raise Shi and Tong herself."

"I don't know…I think I like how protective and meddling she is," Mai mused with a sigh. "It's sweet. Sometimes, I find myself wishing my own parents paid half as much attention. That feeling doesn't usually last long though."

Though the silence that had characterized her relationship with her parents for most of her teenage and on into her adult years was finally beginning to break, Mai, in no way, shared the closeness with them that Zuko shared with his mother. Their concern for Shi and Tong mostly sprung out of the knowledge that their grandsons were heirs to the Fire Nation throne. However, they rarely took an interest in the boys beyond that. Instead, it was Ursa who doted on them endlessly. It was Ursa who rocked them to sleep and told the boys stories about their heritage. It was Ursa who adored them.

Noting the pensive look on Mai's face, Zuko offered, "We can always invite your parents here, if you want. You should be surrounded by family."

"I _am_ surrounded by family," Mai emphasized.

"You know what I mean," Zuko replied softly. "It's different when your parents are around."

"Please," Mai snorted. "Don't trouble yourself. It doesn't bother me at all that I rarely see them. That's the story of my life. As corny as it sounds…sometimes I do miss them and…and I wish we could be a real family, but let's face it. We're not close and we're not going to be. If they were here it would just be awkward. It's for the best that they only visit on occasion. Anything more would make me miserable."

"But they're your parents!" Zuko stressed.

"And Azula is your sister," Mai pointed out to him. "Not to mention that Ozai was your father," she added, provoking a shudder from Zuko. "You should know better than anyone that sometimes blood isn't enough to make strong ties, Zuko."

"I guess you're right," he conceded with a sigh. "I just…I feel bad for you, I guess."

"Don't feel bad for me," she told him. "My life can't get any better than it is right now."

Pleased with her answer, Zuko nuzzled her throat, darting his tongue against her salty skin. "Are you finished with practice yet?" he asked her, though his tone suggested that he wanted to know much more than that.

She batted away his questing hands. "A few more hours," Mai told him, adding when he emitted a frustrated groan, "Practice is how we keep you from being assassinated, _Firelord_. Be grateful."

"I guess…" Zuko grumbled.

"Your understanding is heartwarming," Mai deadpanned. But when she started to hop from his lap, Zuko held her fast. "What?" she demanded in mock impatience.

"I love you," he whispered solemnly.

She leaned in close to nuzzle him. "Eh…you're okay too."

He was still smiling wryly over Mai's flip comment as she disappeared beyond the courtyard when Katara wandered outside, grumbling under her breath. She plopped down beside him on the bench where he was seated. "What's got you in such a happy mood?" she wondered dourly.

"What's got you in such a bad one?" Zuko countered with surprised look. He scrutinized her closely, taking in her disheveled appearance and surly expression. "You look terrible," he observed flatly.

"I don't know why most women _don't_ find you charming, Zuko," Katara mocked behind a plastic smile. "I mean, you have a way with words that's nothing short of poetic." She glanced around the courtyard, noticing the plethora of arrows lodged in the façade of the palace's left wing. "Uh…are _they_ around?" she asked carefully. "If so, I can come back later.

"_They_ have gone further out to train," Zuko replied. "Don't tell me Aang's paranoia is starting to rub off on you."

While most of his friends seemed to be impressed with his new royal guard and even awed by them, Aang maintained a high degree of wariness for the Yu Yan. In fact, he said they "gave him the creeps." Whenever they were visibly present, he always made a point of excusing himself. Zuko found it mildly amusing that Aang's aversion to the archers was starting to affect Katara as well.

"They're always so silent…precise," Katara explained with a shudder. "It's weird. I just don't like them. Oh, and that whole capturing Aang for Zhao thing still sticks in my craw too."

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Zuko remarked dryly. "But you forgave _me_ for all my crimes against Aang. Can't you dredge up a little forgiveness for my royal guard, especially seeing as how they're on our side now?" Katara surveyed him with a sideways glance that clearly said, "Don't hold your breath." Zuko frowned. "Seriously, what's wrong with you?" he pressed, tossing a curious glance about her when he recognized, for the first time, Aang was not with her. "Where's Aang? Is he sleeping in? Too much activity for him last night?"

"You're hilarious," Katara mumbled with a roll of her eyes.

Her sardonic response brought with it the first stirrings of genuine concern from Zuko. "Did you two have some kind of fight?"

"No. We didn't have a fight. Aang's not here," Katara answered flatly. "He left for Ba Sing Se sometime early this morning."

"Ba Sing Se?" Zuko echoed in confusion with a deepening scowl. Suddenly, the reason for Katara's bad mood became abundantly clear, given Aang's abrupt departure. Zuko imagined she was just as confused as he was right then. "Why would he go to Ba Sing Se _now_, of all times?"

"He received a message from Kuei last night," Katara explained. "It said that he needed to see Aang right away."

"Why?" Zuko pressed. "He's supposed to be here later in the week. What could he possibly have to discuss with Aang that couldn't wait until then?"

Katara shrugged. "I don't know. The message only said that Aang was to come to see him immediately, so he left."

"And without saying anything to me about it," Zuko considered, more to himself than to Katara.

Still, she responded as if he'd been speaking directly to her. "What was he supposed to say to you, Zuko?" she demanded a little defensively. "He didn't know what it was about either. I'm sure when Aang has more details, he'll let you know."

Tendrils of dread and suspicion began to unfurl in Zuko's chest. There was something in Katara's eyes that remained unspoken despite her reassurances. Zuko couldn't be sure why, but he felt like she was keeping something from him. He thought back to his argument with Aang the day before and wondered if it had anything to do with Aang's sudden trip to Ba Sing Se. The timing seemed extremely convenient.

"And you have no idea why he left?" he prompted Katara after pondering the matter a moment, "Or why Kuei would want to see Aang now?"

"I have no idea."

Zuko surveyed her with a penetrating stare, weighing his options between believing her and questioning her further. "And if you did…" he queried finally, "would you tell me?"

****

Aang knelt at the stream and washed away the fine cover of trail dust from his face and hands. The journey had been unusually quiet thus far, even with Momo tagging along. It was as if Appa and Momo had been just as affected by his leaving Katara behind as Aang had been.

They hovered alongside him, both bellowing and mewling in tandem. It was quite obvious to Aang that they were both pouting. Momo had even forgone his snack in favor of perching on his hind legs to regard Aang with sad, green eyes. "Guys, come on! Cheer up," Aang sighed when both animals continued to groan and hum solemnly. "We'll only be gone a few days." Neither the bison nor the lemur seemed particularly heartened by his optimism. Aang was met with yet more lowing and mewling. "Look, I know you miss her, okay," he reasoned as if he could really make sense of the low sounds they made. "I miss her too. But we've got a job to do and we need to focus. It's not like we'll never see her again."

Momo chittered in protest, waving his paws in a frenetic manner as if to say, "It sure feels like it."

Heaving a melancholy sigh, Aang reached out to scratch behind Momo's ears. "Yeah, I feel the same way, buddy," he mumbled despondently. "I should have probably said goodbye to her face to face instead of leaving while she was still sleeping."

Appa rumbled a growl of agreement. "Thanks a lot, buddy," Aang muttered. "That helps." The sky bison stared at him mutely and his eyes seemed to say, "Hey, you're the one who said it." Aang expelled another serrated sigh. "You're right. But it seemed like a good decision at the time," he continued defensively. "As hard as it was to leave her sleeping there, it would have been ten times worse if she'd been awake. I don't know if I would have been able to leave her at all." Aang contemplated his wavering reflection in the water and murmured aloud in thought, "When did I forget how to be without her?"

Momo rattled off a string of chittering babble, as if to say, "Did you _ever_ know how to be without her?"

Aang narrowed his eyes before pushing to his feet. "You're not really helping, Momo," he grumbled moodily. He closed his eyes and paced along the edge of the stream, giving himself a pep-talk. "I can do this. It will only be a week at the most. It will be hard and I know this meeting with Kuei probably isn't going to go very well but… No matter how bad it is…Katara will be waiting for me when it's over. I can look forward to hugs and kisses and…" he trailed off with a blush when he realized Appa and Momo were staring at him in rapt attention, "…um…other stuff," he finished lamely. "You know that the kisses and 'other stuff' will be for me, but I'm sure Katara will have a snack for you guys or something." Both Appa and Momo traded glance at that, as if they realized they were both getting the short end of the stick in the deal.

"Well, we should probably get a move on," Aang announced, feeling a bit better than he had before they stopped for their break. "If we fly straight through we can be in Ba Sing Se in a few hours."

Momo scurried up onto his shoulder and Aang started to airbend himself up onto Appa's head when his earthbending sight suddenly tingled. An ominous tingling shivered down his back. He sensed the vibrations in the ground and received a flashing view of what awaited him. Half a dozen men were scattered and hidden in the trees beyond the stream. Aang tensed. "Who's out there?" he called out warily, preparing himself for an attack. "Show yourself!"

He wasn't going to bend against them without provocation, but he was ready to counter with a defensive move just in case. Unfortunately, the assault, when it finally came, was one for which Aang did not have a counterstrike. The dart came zinging at him with surprising speed, lodging in his neck before he even process what was happening. He didn't even have the opportunity to pull the barb from his neck before all four of his limbs lost sensation and the loss of balance caused him to topple over into the slow-moving stream beside him.


	6. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

Immobilizing the Avatar had surprisingly proved to be the easier task for JianJun. Subduing his bison had been another matter altogether. After his master had fallen into the stream, the massive animal had quickly fished out the Avatar's sodden form before abruptly blowing back JianJun's advancing agents with one powerful, downward stroke of his mighty tail. Even the flying monkey the Avatar traveled with had gone a little crazy, jumping from shoulder to shoulder, biting and clawing and pelting heads with tiny paws.

It had taken a number of bumps and bruises and even a few head injuries before the sky bison was finally restrained. The lemur, unfortunately, had already taken flight by the time he was darted. JianJun had stared wordlessly as the animal made a spiraling descent back to the cold, hard ground below, presumably to his death…though that was not something he had taken the time to confirm for himself. The incident replayed itself over in JianJun's mind as he recounted the Avatar's capture to Princess Azula and, as he did, he suddenly found himself wondering if that small detail would prove to be a problem later.

Wisely, JianJun refrained from mentioning that pertinent detail to the high-strung princess. Somehow, he knew without asking that she would not be pleased by his lack of thoroughness, even if the incident with the lemur amounted to nothing. Fortunately for him, Azula was so preoccupied with the news that the Avatar was finally in her possession, she didn't particularly note the creases of uneasiness that occasionally played across JianJun's features. It was quite evident she had bigger things on her mind.

"Everything seems to be falling into place rather nicely then," Azula remarked. She stepped out onto her balcony to inhale the salt laden night air, inordinately pleased with herself. The moist air dampened the whipping ends of her hair, rendering the tendrils heavy and sticky with salty condensation. However, Azula barely made note of it or JianJun, as he followed her outside and regarded her from a distance. "Securing the Avatar was just the first step and the most difficult. With him out of the way, I should be able to execute the remainder of my plan with very little opposition."

"Princess?" JianJun murmured, detecting something strange in her tone. "Is something amiss?" She seemed bizarrely unexcited. There was a marked lack of elation or even satisfaction in her reaction. Instead, she appeared resolved and even a bit troubled. He wanted to approach her, to lend some kind of comfort to her as a lover should, but he knew without taking a step she would reject him.

"I'm so close, JianJun…" Azula revealed in a low, thoughtful tone. "I'm incredibly close to having everything I want, everything I _deserve_. I can practically reach out and touch it, but…I don't know if I can." JianJun hovered behind her in silence, astonished by the admission because she had never, ever made herself this vulnerable to him before, but also a little alarmed to hear her doubting herself. "I'm standing here wondering…is this too easy?" She turned her profile towards the water, the fan of her heavy hair concealing her features from him. "Already, I'm filled with apprehension and we've only just begun. I don't like it when things don't go according to plan. It makes me feel like I'm not in control and I do _not_ like that feeling!"

"I don't understand what you mean, Princess," JianJun uttered blankly. "You have the Avatar. _No one_ has more control than you do."

"You fool! Think about it! The waterbender!" Azula clarified in a hiss, pivoting around to face him suddenly. Just as inexplicably and suddenly as her moment of emotional nakedness had manifested itself, it disappeared behind a wall of steely, calculating ice. Her mercurial change had JianJun wondering if he had only imagined the prior few moments.

"What went wrong?" she demanded, flashing JianJun a dangerous scowl. "She should have been with him. I expected to take them both together. I was anticipating being able to use her as leverage, but he was alone. I didn't expect that. This hardly dissuades me from my plans, but…I have to wonder if this will prove to be a problem later. I don't want to take any chances."

"I'm absolutely certain she didn't escape, Princess, if that's what has you troubled. The Avatar was alone except for his bison," JianJun reassured her. It wasn't the complete truth, but JianJun didn't see himself giving her _that_ at all. "We scoured the entire area for the waterbender. I believe she must have stayed behind."

"And the question is why," Azula considered. "Why would she stay behind? We've watched them closely for years now and they've never done a single thing apart!"

"Perhaps they had a disagreement," JianJun supposed.

"Perhaps they did or perhaps they had an agreement that she would join him in a day or so," Azula murmured. "The point is…we don't know, so, _perhaps_, that is something _you_ should make certain of."

"Will it…will it really make a difference?" JianJun wondered in a careful tone.

Azula tapped her chin in consideration. "Let's think about that one, shall we?" she mused coldly. "Will it make a difference, you ask. How do you suppose you would fare if the plan I have been constructing for nearly three years fell apart simply because _you_ didn't feel what I ordered made a difference? Would you truly like to know, JianJun?" she concluded in silky threat.

The Dai Li agent gulped. "No, Princess."

"Then I suggest you make sure that the Avatar's lovely waterbender won't prove to be a problem until I am ready," she told him. "Thanks to that perfect forgery I sent with the help of a little souvenir I picked up while I was in Ba Sing Se all those years ago we have a guarantee that no one will be looking for the Avatar for a few days, at least. I can't have anyone shaking up that variable before the time is right, namely before I've made my foothold with Long Feng. Timing is key. I'm come too far to have everything I've worked so hard to build crumble now!"

"It won't crumble. If the waterbender is such a threat, we can still take her if you wish," JianJun offered quietly.

"No!" Azula replied in a sharpened tone. "It's much too late for that. Doing so would just arouse suspicion at this point. I'm sure I'll find a way to use this to my advantage. I always do."

Her momentary lapse in self-confidence seemingly resolved, JianJun tentatively moved on to other matters, trying to ignore the fear her earlier diatribe had instilled in him. "Do you wish me to begin the process with the Avatar then?" he asked her.

"No," Azula answered. "That's something I plan to oversee myself. Let him stew for a day or two."

Disappointed and disheartened by her answer, JianJun found himself displaying a momentary flash of petulance. It was difficult being in love with a woman, sharing her bed and feeling, when all was said and done, you were held in very little regard. JianJun felt that way acutely and that fact manifested itself in his next words to her. "You can trust me to do this for you," he informed her softly. "I want to do this for you."

Azula swallowed back a trill of laughter over his intimate and sincere offer. "It is hardly about trust, JianJun," she said, refraining from informing him that she trusted no one. "When the Avatar is broken, I want to be there to see it," Azula revealed with a certain amount of gleeful satisfaction. "I want to leave him writhing and weeping on the floor." _Like he did to me_, she added in silent resentment.

Somewhat mollified by the revelation that her reluctance to have him oversee matters with the Avatar had nothing to do with a lack of trust, JianJun relaxed somewhat. "Does that mean you're ready to leave this place now?" he queried hopefully.

Truthfully, Azula could have walked out at any time within the last two years. Her doctors and attendants were completely under her thumb thanks to JianJun's special talents in "persuasion." What was even more delightful was that none of them even realized anything was amiss at all. And yet, in spite of her relative freedom, Azula had lingered. Even with her plan gaining momentum and victory barreling into her grasp, she continued to loiter at the facility even when she didn't really have to.

At the center of her procrastination was her mother. Azula didn't know when or how, but slowly, gradually her mother's visits had shifted from misery to something expected and most recently something…anticipated. Though she would never admit to it aloud, she had begun looking forward to her mother's visits. It had been Ursa, after all, who had coaxed her out of her self-imposed silence following the loss of her bending. In spite of her burning hatred and marked lack of enthusiasm where her visits were concerned, Ursa had still persisted.

In the beginning, she had tried regaling Azula with stories of the early days, when they had all been a pseudo-happy family, but Azula had been left unmoved by those tales. She had known, even in her tender years, that those flashes of family bonding were little more than a cloying façade. Though her mother and brother had seemed blinded to it, Azula had always suspected the man her father truly was underneath. At an early age, she had learned not to take anything at face value and that everyone, even her own parents, wore masks. Finding herself unable to trust her own family, Azula was resolved not to trust _anyone_.

If Ursa had hoped to win Azula over with syrupy recollections of the past then she'd been sorely mistaken and that had showed in the months of non-progress she made with Azula. Finally, she had gotten to the point where she was ready to give up. The doctors had given her little hope on Azula's prospects for recovery. Ursa had been broken and emotionally battered and Azula could remember that day clearly because it was seemingly the first time her mother had looked at her with anything akin to sincere, unreserved love.

"I…I never understood you, Azula," Ursa had wept pitifully as she hovered near the exit for what Azula had been sure was the final time. "Not even when you were a little girl. Your mind worked in ways that I couldn't even fathom, but…I wanted to understand you. I wanted to love you…you just never let me close enough to do it. You never made it easy."

She might have left then, possibly walked out of Azula's life forever if her daughter hadn't chosen that moment to break a near 18 month silence. "Should I have?" Azula had challenged.

It wasn't a heartwarming start by any means. While Ursa had been encouraged by the fact that Azula had even spoken at all, her optimism over that incredible breakthrough was tested sorely in the years that followed. However, with time and persistence, Azula's attitude towards her mother began to gradually cool from blatant antagonism and blazing hatred to apathy and finally…tentative acceptance. She didn't understand her mother and surely Ursa didn't understand her, but rather than divide them ridiculously as it had in the past, mother and daughter were progressively finding common ground on which to stand.

Azula knew that if she left all of that would end. There would be no more visits from her mother and likely all the advancement they'd made would be obliterated once Azula followed through with her plan. The knowledge wasn't enough to deter her, but Azula could not pretend it did not fill her with disappointment as well. Hence the reason she continued to go through the motions of remaining at Donghai Aiguo. She knew once she left, the tentative bridge she'd built with her mother would crumble. It was inevitable and Azula had always known that, however she wanted to put it off for as long as she possibly could.

Yet, when she answered JianJun's question, her answer to him reflected none of the conflicted vulnerability taking root in her heart. "I can't afford to leave too soon," she told JianJun. "My mother visits far too frequently. She would be the first to learn of my escape and, once that happens, she'll be sure to run to my brother with the news. Better I stay here until after the situation with Long Feng is resolved."

JianJun inclined his head in an accepting nod. "As you wish, Princess."

****

June awakened in pitch darkness and chained to a wall.

As she stirred against the slightly damp floor, her chains rattled faintly. In the slow, painful ascent into awareness, June realized the darkness cloaking her was due to a blindfold and not a lack of light though she didn't imagine, if the malodorous odor surrounding her served as any kind of clue, that there was much light where she was. Removal of her blindfold served to confirm that and, as if in mockery of that fact, something scurried over the back of her booted calf almost the instant that she did. However, June did not panic nor did she struggle against the metal fetters restraining her.

Instead, June relaxed against her bonds, took several deep breaths…and listened. Beyond her cell she could hear the faint, reverberating sounds of conversation. Wherever she was being held was obviously very big and relatively empty judging by the ongoing echoes that resonated throughout. She also noted the steady, methodical sound of dripping water off in the distance, as if from leaky pipes. And pipes, June knew, were usually concealed below ground. So, at least she knew that much. She was in a big, dark hole underground that was possibly infested with a plethora of vermin. _Outstanding_, June thought to herself.

She took several deep breaths, focusing past the throbbing pain in her temples to gain her bearings. Though it took several unsteady attempts, she managed to push to her feet. She weaved momentarily, her metal bonds clanking and tightening about her wrists. It was the sudden pain of the manacles cutting into her flesh that sharpened June cognitively. At that particular moment, she relished pain, even welcomed it.

Once she was certain she was not going to topple over, she began to circle her tight confines with meticulous accuracy, as far as her restraints would allow her. Beneath her feet the ground felt yielding and somewhat squishy…evidently earth. A quick feel of the walls surrounding her confirmed that they were stone and she could see ahead of her that there was a small opening at the center of one wall was blocked by metal bars. If she'd had any doubts she was in a prison cell before then, they were quickly laid to rest.

She pressed her back into the cool stone, blinking rapidly to adjust her eyes to the blackness that spilled out before her, but there was not even torchlight beyond her cell. She could only hear the voices and a low, keening bellow, followed by shouting. June held her breath…straining her ears to catch the snippets of conversation.

"…can't give him too much…kill him…won't be pleased…tried to bite me…careful…not to be harmed…the Avatar…"

June's eyes widened at the last of that. The Avatar? She thought back to before the Earthbenders had taken her, before everything had become blackness… They had wanted Nyla's venom for something…_someone_… In small doses, Nyla's toxin only worked for a little more than an hour, but whoever had taken them now had an unlimited supply. June shuddered to think that someone they planned to use it for might have been the Avatar.

While she wouldn't describe her relationship with him as close, in fact June even doubted they could be described as friends; she _did _respect and admire him. Whenever he had come to her for help in the past, she'd never refused him. In the beginning she'd offered her assistance because the request had come from the Firelord on his behalf and later because she had genuinely grown fond of the kid. If her suspicions were true and Nyla's venom really _was_ being used on him they were all going to be in really big trouble…

****

Sokka found Katara curled in the windowsill of the bedchamber she shared with Aang, contemplating the sun as it sank down below the hills beyond. He eased down beside her, curiously surveying her dejected profile. "So you missed dinner…" he began tentatively, pushing the platter of food in his hands towards her. "I thought you might be hungry."

Katara spared him a brief glance before waving the food away. "No, I'm not hungry," she said. "But thank you for thinking of me."

Disappointed but not discouraged entirely, Sokka set aside the food and regarded his sister with a billowing sigh. "Come on, Katara," he prodded with a playful nudge against her shoulder. "Don't you think you're being a tad bit melodramatic?"

"What?" Katara wondered blankly.

"Listen, I know you miss Aang," Sokka began in a sympathetic tone, "but shutting yourself away in your room and avoiding your friends isn't going to make him return any faster, okay. He's only been gone two days. Besides, he's the Avatar, remember? This kind of thing sort of comes with the territory."

"I know that, Sokka," Katara replied somewhat tartly. "You don't have to explain to me the mechanics involved in being the Avatar's wife. I know them better than anyone."

"Okay, okay," Sokka rushed out, throwing up his hands in surrender. "You don't have to be so testy about it."

His confused and mildly hurt reaction had Katara regretting her harshness with him. She slumped forward with a remorseful sigh. "I'm sorry," she mumbled. "I'm in a bad mood and I wrongly took that out on you."

"Because Aang's gone?" Sokka prompted.

"It's not just that," Katara explained. "I…I just have this feeling, the horrible sense that something bad has happened. I can't shake it."

Sokka clamped a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Do you think, perhaps, you're being a little sensitive?" he asked carefully. "After all, this is the first time that you and Aang have been separated in a really long time. Of course, it's going to feel foreign to you. Remember a few months back when I went with Dad and Bato on that hunting trip? Suki and I only spent like three days apart and I didn't know whether I was coming or going."

Katara giggled at the memory, recalling how Sokka had nearly mowed down everyone in his path in an effort to get to Suki upon his return. She had never seen Sokka so clingy and sentimental. For weeks afterward, she and Aang had teased him about it mercilessly.

"I thought it was sweet how much you missed Suki," Katara told her brother. "When you're _that_ close to someone, it's hard to remember how to function without them," she concluded wisely.

"And that's exactly my point," Sokka drove home. "That's all you're feeling right now. Aang has become such a vital part of your existence that, when he's not there, it feels wrong."

"I don't know, Sokka…" Katara hedged. "I think it's more than that. I mean, I'm not saying that doesn't factor into what I'm feeling but…" She closed her eyes for a moment, tucking her knees more securely against her chest. "There are some things going on right now that make me feel a little apprehensive," she informed him vaguely.

"Oh, you mean all the unrest going on in the Earth Kingdom right now?" Sokka deduced softly.

Swallowing back a groan, Katara flashed him with a wide, miserable stare. "You know about it?"

"Katara, it's not like I live beneath a rock," Sokka deadpanned. "The South Pole isn't a different world."

"I'm just saying that the Southern Water Tribe tends to be far removed from this sort of thing," Katara explained lamely. "I just assumed you and Suki wouldn't be entirely up to speed due to the fact you spend most of your time away from the Earth Kingdom."

"But Suki is still an Earth Kingdom citizen," Sokka reminded his sister. "And, if that's not enough, my best friend lives in Ba Sing Se. Suffice it to say I have a pretty good idea about what's going on. The question is…do Zuko and Aang know how bad it's gotten?" Katara confirmed with a stilted nod. "And?" Sokka prompted.

"And they can't reach an agreement about what should be done," Katara sighed. "Zuko thinks they should focus their energies on crushing the rebellions and reassuring the Earth Kingdom that the Fire Nation does not pose a threat to them."

"What does Aang think?" Sokka wondered quietly.

"He wants to disband the Colonies," Katara revealed. "Considering how shaky everything is, he thinks that would likely be the best course of action, short of the colonies coming under Earth Kingdom law…which no one seems particularly thrilled about, not Zuko and certainly not the Colonists."

"What does Zuko say about Aang's decision?" Sokka asked. "I mean…I can understand where they're both coming from here. On one hand, it seems like the Fire Nation is still calling shots in the Earth Kingdom; but on the other hand, it's like punishing the victims by making them give up their homes and their lands."

"Yeah," Katara agreed. "Aang's been eaten up about the whole thing for a while now."

"But he's made his decision now and we need to back him up on it," Sokka considered. He leaned back into the windowsill with a rueful sigh. "I suppose Zuko's pretty furious about it."

Katara dropped her eyes guiltily. "Zuko doesn't know," she confessed in a suffocated tone.

Sokka lurched upright, mouth agape. "He doesn't?"

"Aang was afraid to tell him," she explained quickly. "He thinks he's going to lose Zuko's friendship when it's all said and done."

"Is that why you're worried?" Sokka wondered. "You think Aang's going to disappear or something because he can't handle the pressure?"

"Aang wouldn't do that!" Katara flashed mutinously. "He wouldn't run, Sokka! Why would you suggest a thing like that at all?"

Sokka shrugged noncommittally. "Well, he's done it before…" he hedged, quickly following with, "Hey, I'm not judging him, Katara!" when he glimpsed his sister's mutinous expression.

"That's not it," Katara replied glumly. "Besides, you know he doesn't do it on purpose."

"But it does happen sometimes," Sokka pointed out with a gentle, lopsided smile. "You know that whenever Aang is deeply conflicted about something weird things _always_ happen. And, even if he _is_ avoiding the issue right now, and I'm not saying he is," he added swiftly, "…you know Aang…he always gets it together in the end. Maybe the next few days in Ba Sing Se will help him gain the perspective he needs, Katara. It doesn't have to be a bad thing. Everyone needs some space from time to time, even Aang. You should just try and relax."

Not particularly known for dropping kernels of wisdom, Sokka felt pretty pleased with himself in the wake of his excellent advice. In fact, he prepared himself for Katara's accolades and unending gratitude. All duly deserved, Sokka decided. Unfortunately, they were not forthcoming. Sokka belatedly realized that Katara wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention to him at all. Instead, she was squinting off into the distance intently, her forehead creased in a frown of concentration.

Growling his frustration over her lack of attentiveness, Sokka waved a hand in front of her face. "Katara!" he cried in exasperation. "Are you even listening to me?" When whatever that was on the horizon maintained her rapt focus, Sokka demanded, "_What_ are you staring at?"

"It's Momo, Sokka," Katara answered slowly, slipping down from the windowsill with mounting dread, "and Aang's not with him."


	7. Chapter Six

**A/N: I know several have expressed concern that June is spelled the wrong way. Rest assured, it is not. My beta and I disagreed on the spelling because I spelled it without an "e" and she spelled it with one. She told me that, on the Nick official site, it was spelled J-U-N-E and not J-U-N. In the interest of thoroughness, I checked that out for myself **_**and**_** read the credits at the end of the finale. Jennifer Hale voices both Kyoshi and June and it is, indeed, spelled with an "e." Just thought I'd clarify that because June's name is going to be coming up frequently in this story.**

* * *

**Chapter Six**

The little lemur had been through quite an ordeal. There wasn't much Katara could do for the fracture in his hind leg as the injury was already days old, but she did what she could to alleviate his pain. Nonetheless, Momo appreciated the luxuriant pampering her healing session provided as well as the unlimited supply of food he'd received upon his return. Once he was fed, his broken limb set and his strength renewed, however, Momo set up a wild chittering that would not be quelled, not that his attempts to convey what had befallen Aang yielded any real results besides causing him a great deal of pain and sapping what little energy he had.

Zuko, Katara, Sokka, Suki and Toph leaned in close to the frantic animal and listened keenly to his guttural babbling. Unfortunately, no one in the group could understand a single thing he was trying to communicate, and Momo was growing fatigued with the effort. "What do you think he's trying to tell us?" Zuko wondered aloud as Momo's frenetic squawking grew faint and weary.

"Isn't that obvious?" Katara demanded in a strident tone, filled with anxiety as she straightened and turned away. "Something has happened to Aang!"

"Katara, stop jumping to conclusions!" Sokka hushed her sharply. "You don't know that at all! He could be trying to tell us how he broke his leg in the first place!"

"Oh please, Sokka!" Katara snorted in an anxious stream. "Momo's hurt! Aang wouldn't just leave him behind!" From his fluffy pallet, Momo put up a strident twitter of absolute agreement. "You see?" Katara cried triumphantly. "Momo's backing me up. We need to leave immediately!"

"Katara, Momo's delirious from lack of food," Sokka reasoned, stooping low to scratch affectionately behind the lemur's ears. "That can happen, you know? He doesn't know what he's doing right now." Indignant over being misunderstood so thoroughly, Momo reached out to weakly bop Sokka against the forehead with his paw. Sokka reared back with an affronted yelp. He glared at Momo. "That was hurtful. I know you've had a rough couple of days, but that's no reason to take it out on me." The lemur responded with a dispassionate chitter.

"It would seem he doesn't agree with you, Sokka," his sister deadpanned pointedly.

"Well, maybe Aang didn't know Momo was hurt," Toph considered in Sokka's defense. Like Sokka, she was questioning whether Katara had genuine reason to be upset or if her understandable longing for Aang was making her unduly paranoid. "Do you even know for sure he went with Aang in the first place?"

"I know you probably don't want to hear this, Katara, but…Toph has a point. You said Aang left before you woke up, remember?" Suki reminded her. "Are you sure he planned to take Momo along? Did he say anything?"

"Why would he _need_ to say anything?" Katara huffed in frustration, growing more and more agitated with their calm reasoning over the matter. "He _always_ takes Momo with him." Yet again she received backup from Momo on that subject, but, this time, the little flying monkey was ignored altogether.

"Katara, come on," Sokka cajoled. "At least consider the possibility that you're getting too far ahead of yourself because, right now, you don't know. We all just kind of assumed Momo went with Aang, but maybe he didn't. Maybe the reason we haven't seen Momo in days is because he was hurt and—,"

"Stop it! Just stop it, you guys!" Katara snapped fiercely. She threw an imploring glance around the circle of their shocked faces. "Please, listen to me," she entreated in a rush of breath. "Something is wrong. You know Momo practically follows Aang everywhere. They were together, but somehow they got separated. Something's happened. I know it! I _feel_ it! We need to go look for him right now!"

Unaware of the mini drama playing out in her sitting room, Mai shuffled into the middle of everything, half groggy with sleep and a bit irritated to have awakened alone in bed. She held a wriggling, whimpering Shi held at arm's length and thrust him towards his father. "Zuko, your eldest needs a change," she announced dryly, "and it's your turn." However, the admonishment she had poised on her lips over his slow reaction was forgotten when she noted the serious faces surrounding her. "Okay…who died?" she demanded bluntly.

Choking out a small whimper, Katara turned towards the large, cathedral windows on the opposite side of the room, hugging her middle protectively. The gesture alarmed Mai more than the somber expressions had. "What did I say?" she asked. "No one really died, did they?"

"Katara thinks Aang is missing," Sokka provided softly. "I think it's just her separation anxiety kicking in."

The glare Katara leveled at her brother was positively glacial. "Well, no one asked you for your opinion, Sokka! Aang _is_ missing," she stressed flatly. Her friends stared at her mournfully, not knowing what to say to her. Their pitying looks only made Katara even angrier. She shook her head at them, fists clenched tightly at her sides in sheer frustration. "I can't understand how you all can be so glib about this!" she cried. "If any of you were missing, Aang would have been out there looking for you by now!"

"Katara, you know that's not fair," Sokka replied in a woeful tone.

That soft admonishment was all it took for Katara to regain some of her composure. "You're right," she murmured regretfully. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I don't know what I'm thinking. I'm just…I'm sorry."

"Look, we all need to remember that Aang does have a habit of disappearing from time to time," Zuko pointed out almost reluctantly. "It's not exactly something that's beyond the norm, Katara. So even if he is gone, it may not mean anything."

"It _feels_ different, Zuko," Katara maintained.

"But that doesn't necessarily mean it _is_ different," her brother countered. "This is all conjecture anyway. For all we know, Aang has already made it to Ba Sing Se and is entertaining Bosco as we speak. He'd laugh to know you were all twisted up like this while he's having fun."

Mai was about to ring in with her own commentary when Shi burst forth an indignant cry over his dirty bottom, making it quite clear to the entire room he was not happy over being ignored. His mother bounced and cooed to him, all to no avail. He was a difficult baby to please once he was in a bad mood…much like his father.

"Here," Toph volunteered, stunning them all when she reached out for Shi. "Let me take care of the kid." The moment he was in her arms, however, she was wrinkling her nose in disgust. "Pee-uuuuu!" she cried, holding the baby at arm's length and averting her head as his pungent aroma tickled her nose. "How can something so small make a smell so big and awful? Ugh. What are you people feeding this kid? You must stop now!"

"Oh, you're hysterical, Toph," Mai deadpanned.

"Seriously, he's rank."

"Are you going to change him or not?" Mai demanded.

"No, I'm not going to change him!" Toph balked. "Hello? You're dealing with a blind woman, remember? Must I remain you people _daily_ of this fact? Besides, that's what you have your royal nurse for. I'm just going to take him out of here so that his squawking isn't such a distraction."

"You're all heart, Toph," Mai returned sardonically.

"It's a gift," Toph volleyed back. She lowered her tone surreptitiously to add so that only Mai could hear her, "Try to talk Katara down while I'm gone, okay? She's really worried. Maybe you'll have better luck at calming her down."

After Toph left with the baby, Mai was the first one to speak as everyone else seemed reluctant to set Katara off on another tirade. "Okay, somebody please explain to me what's going on," she began in a careful tone. "Why does Katara have the idea that Aang is missing? I thought he was in Ba Sing Se."

"He probably is," Sokka interjected under his breath.

Katara pinned him with a narrowed glare. "You don't know that for sure!" she snapped. "None of you do!" Momo might have chittered his strident support over her statement if sheer exhaustion and pain hadn't already overtaken his tiny body. While Katara made her argument, he was, unfortunately, sound asleep.

"And you don't know that he's hurt, Katara," Zuko countered reasonably. "He's only been gone a couple of days. If you're that worried, why don't you send him a message?"

"Yeah," Sokka piped in. "You're always welcome to use Hawky."

"Hmm, yeah that's a brilliant idea," Suki drawled in a mocking under-breath, "…because the message is so guaranteed to get there if Hawky does the job."

"Why exactly are you so concerned, Katara?" Zuko charged, surveying her with a penetrating look. Not for the first time, he wondered if there was something more to Katara's worry, something she was leaving unspoken. "Aang's not helpless. He knows how to take care of himself! I don't understand why you're so agitated!"

"Oh, you don't understand?" she snapped suddenly, rounding on Zuko furiously. "Well, it couldn't have anything to do with the fact that Aang is practically hated in the Earth Kingdom right now, could it, Zuko? You wouldn't know anything about that, huh?"

"Wait a minute," Mai inserted defensively. "Are you blaming _Zuko_ for that?"

"Well, I think everyone here is aware of the fact that if you support the Firelord these days you're not exactly met with love and adoration in the Earth Kingdom," Katara flung out tartly.

"And that's _my_ fault?" Zuko cried defensively.

"You have to admit Aang's continued support of you has put him in an awkward position, Zuko!" Katara retorted. "You sit here safe in your palace and far removed from what goes on out there!" she fired on, pointing her finger towards the window for emphasis. "It's Aang that bears the brunt of the hatred for you! But have you, even once, taken two seconds to consider what kind of position you've put him in?"

"Hold on there," Mai interjected calmly. "You know I never get in the middle of your political squabbles. That's you guys' thing, but blaming Zuko is harsh and unfair, Katara. You accuse him of being selfish because he's not thinking about Aang, but _you're_ the one being selfish because you're not considering the position _Zuko_ is in! He needs to think of his people first and I'd think you could understand that."

Sokka smoothly inserted himself between them, wishing more devoutly than anyone, except perhaps Katara, that Aang were there. He was always the peacekeeper in situations like this. "Okay, let's not allow our tempers to get the best of us," he soothed both women. "Katara is just speaking out of worry right now. She doesn't blame Zuko for anything." He leveled a pointed look at his sister. "Do you, Katara?" There was something in the steely way she met his stare that spoke otherwise, however.

"Katara, are you really worried?" Zuko queried softly.

She pinned him with glittering eyes. "Yes," she choked.

"Okay…okay," Zuko relented with a sigh. "I don't know if I believe something is wrong…_yet_, but obviously you believe it and that's enough. I'll send messengers to Ba Sing Se immediately to check on Aang's whereabouts."

"Thank you, Zuko," Katara replied with a relieved slump. "I'm sorry I attacked you a minute ago."

"You're fine," he dismissed quietly. "Forget about it. I have a tendency to lead with my heart too. I get it." Their eyes met briefly in a silent stare of truce and understanding.

"Firelord Zuko?" Five pairs of eyes swung around expectantly to regard the timid servant standing in the entranceway. "You've just received a correspondence from the Earth King," he said, passing Zuko the scroll before bowing respectfully and exiting the room upon Zuko's dismissal.

Zuko unrolled the note and scanned it quickly. "It's from Kuei," he informed his friends as they began to gather around him. "He says that Aang has arrived safely and that their business should be concluded in a few days." He passed the scroll to Katara so that she could read it with her own eyes. "There, read for yourself," he bid her. "Are you satisfied? He's okay."

Katara looked the message over before tossing it aside. "No, I'm not satisfied," she replied. "I don't like that Aang didn't contact me himself. That's not like him. I still want you to send the messengers."

"Okay," Zuko agreed, ringing for a servant so that he could dispatch the message. "I'll have two of my guardsmen on their way to Ba Sing Se within the hour."

"You're not thinking it's a forgery, are you?" Suki wondered, stooping low to examine the discarded note. She traced her fingers lightly around the Earth King's seal. "Because this looks pretty authentic to me, Katara."

"I don't care how authentic it is," Katara mumbled. "Aang didn't write it."

"Katara, what does it matter?" Sokka cried in exasperation. "He's there. Isn't that what you wanted to know? He's in Ba Sing Se and he's safe! Why are you begging for trouble where there is none?"

"Because it doesn't feel right, Sokka," Katara replied, returning to her position near the window. "It just doesn't feel right."

****

"So nice of you to remember you _supposedly_ answer to me, JianJun," Long Feng remarked as the errant Dai Li agent ducked quietly into his study. "Where have you been?"

"My apologies, Long Feng, sir," he said. "I had a few matters of business to attend to."

Long Feng stroked his chin in consideration of that answer. "I wasn't aware you had any business to attend to other than mine," he reminded JianJun pointedly. "And you've been woefully lax about that lately."

"I do have a good reason…" JianJun replied in a very cryptic manner.

"And that is?" Long Feng snapped rather impatiently.

"Me," Azula provided, stepping out from behind the Dai Li agent. She took a ridiculous amount of satisfaction in Long Feng's completely shocked reaction. "Did you miss me, Long Feng?" she asked sweetly.

Long Feng's reaction was swift and visceral. He surged to his feet with an enraged snarl. "What is _she_ doing here?" he barked.

"What do you think I'm doing here?" Azula challenged with a laugh. "I should think you'd be happier to see me, considering I'm the one who arranged for your release and all. No need to say thank you. I'm sure you'll show your gratitude in other ways." With a lilting sigh, Azula deposited herself in the nearest chair. "This is very comfortable."

Ignoring her attempts at small talk and distraction, Long Feng sneered, "You're lying."

Tapered black brows arched in amused challenge. "Am I? Every move you've made for the last three months has been by _my_ design." She emitted a soft laugh. "It's like you're my very own puppet. Isn't it rather nice how, even with so many years of silence between us, our dynamic still remains the same?"

Infuriated nearly to the point of bodily harm, Long Feng pierced JianJun with a scornful glower. "You! This is your doing!" he spat. "How dare you bring her into my presence?"

"Actually no, it's not his doing," Azula interjected dryly. "Let's give proper credit, shall we? This was my brain child from start to finish. But JianJun has been very adept at carrying out my orders. He's also become a rather accomplished liar." She flashed a smile over at the stoic Dai Li agent. "I taught him that."

"Get out!" Long Feng growled. "Both of you get out of my study right now before _I_ remove you myself! And I can do it, Princess. I know very well you have no bending. The Avatar stripped you of power, much like you stripped me. Ironic, wouldn't you say? The point is…you're no match for me!"

"But I am," JianJun warned him smoothly. "Don't even consider touching her." As if to add weight to his unspoken threat, several more Dai Li agents slipped into the room to stand behind him and Azula. "I suggest you sit down and hear what she has to say," he advised Long Feng.

"I don't take orders from you!" Long Feng sneered.

"Then take orders from me," Azula countered calmly. "Sit down, Long Feng."

To his horror and humiliation, Long Feng found himself obeying her command with a spasmodic swallow. There was something chilling, menacing in the way she delivered it. Even without her bending and certifiably insane, the diminutive young woman before him maintained a commanding and confident air. She had once told him the divine right to rule was something one was born with and Long Feng reluctantly acknowledged the truth in her words now. Power was something that radiated from Azula's core, as natural as a genetic trait. It was evident in the way she continued to hold the Dai Li enthralled even when she seemingly had no power to speak of.

The realization that the Dai Li's loyalty for the Fire Nation princess remained unshaken even through her madness and crushing failure caused envy, rage and hatred to explode in Long Feng's brain. Had he the courage to stand against them all, he would have killed her in that moment without a second's hesitation. He literally burned with the desire to end her.

"You want to follow her so badly?" he challenged JianJun between clenched teeth. "Do so and get out of my sight! It has nothing to do with me!"

"Not so fast," Azula said, seemingly unbothered by Long Feng's obvious wrath. "You and I have business to discuss first. And, I think I would love a cup of tea while we talk," she drawled in saccharine graciousness. "It was a long journey and I'm just parched."

Realizing belatedly that she was baiting him, Long Feng released a rumbling snort of laughter. "Princess," he began in mild amusement. "While you may or may not have instrumented my release from prison, you by no means own me. Let me disabuse you of that notion right now."

"You think not?" Azula challenged. "I wonder what the Earth King would do if he learned you'd been released. I don't suppose that would make him very happy."

"The Earth King has bigger problems on his hands right now," Long Feng countered. "Besides, even if he didn't, he can't touch me. Much like you can't."

"Oh yes," Azula drawled in a bored tone. "You have been busily raising my army these last few months, haven't you, Long Feng? I can understand how that would instill you with confidence."

"_My_ army," Long Feng stressed. "You have no power here. You're obviously as deluded as you've been rumored to be if you think so! Now, if that is all—,"

"—You don't dismiss me, Long Feng!" Azula snapped harshly. "When _I_ am finished with this conversation, _you_ will know it!"

"Say what you have to say and be done with it!" Long Feng bit out.

"I see your time in prison has stripped you of all your good manners, Long Feng," Azula tsked. "Such a shame."

"What do you want?"

"Your loyalty, of course," she said. "I won't ask for your trust and respect because that's a laughable prospect even to me. But you _are_ going to help me get what I want and, in return, I will then help you get what you want."

"I'm perfectly capable of getting what I want without you, Princess," Long Feng retorted.

"Are you?" Azula laughed. "Because, from my vantage point, you haven't been doing such a fine job of that thus far. This supposed power you think you have, it's very tenuous. It wouldn't take very much to shake your allies' confidence in you at all…especially when they're reminded that the Avatar is out there and you have no immediate plans as to how to deal with him. You wouldn't want to find yourself in another situation like you did with the Dai Li, would you?"

"It's hardly the same," Long Feng spat. "You were able to persuade the Dai Li away from me because they believed you had something I did not. That's not the case this time. You're a pariah and a laughingstock in the eyes of your own nation. Even your brother won't recognize you as family. To the world, you're nothing more than a crazy, delusional _failure_," he finished in immense satisfaction. "No one would dare choose to follow you."

"Be that as it may," Azula remarked, seemingly unfazed by his cruel verbal attacks, "while I may, indeed, be crazy and delusional in your eyes, I wouldn't make assumptions about who will and will not follow me. You see, I have something that you don't, Long Feng."

"And what's that, Princess?" he indulged in the most patronizing tone.

Azula's lips curved in a malevolent smile. "The Avatar."


	8. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven**

"Wakey, wakey, sleeping beauty."

Though his eyelids felt like leaden weights and it took a tremendous amount of willpower to even part them slightly, Aang somehow managed to do so…and instantly regretted his decision. Azula's smirking features filled his line of vision. He recoiled mentally, surprised to find her there but then not really surprised either. Unfortunately, his reflexive instinct to scramble away from her was impeded due to the fact his head, arms and feet were restrained in heavy wooden stocks. However, the stocks were the least of his problems.

Had he been free, movement still would have been impossible. His entire body was paralyzed! His limbs, which were tied together with thick, braided rope, hung heavily in the stocks, immobile. The only reason he was able to meet Azula's cold stare at all was because she held her hand propped beneath his chin. He was literally like putty in her hands. It was actually a small blessing that he couldn't feel a thing because he doubted she was being very gentle with him at the moment, not to mention the fact his awkward body position and the ropes binding him had to be painfully uncomfortable as well.

"Welcome back to the world, Avatar," she whispered almost sweetly.

Aang blinked at her groggily, trying to focus his muddled thoughts, but finding that most of his energy went into keeping his eyes open. He felt lethargic, sluggish, as if he were moving in slow motion. Inwardly, he was panicking over his situation, but outwardly he lacked the strength to express it.

"Azula…" he mumbled, trying hard to focus on her face. "What are you doing here?"

"You know, you should probably be asking 'what _you're_ doing here?'" she drawled out caustically. Aang tried not to flinch as she skimmed a lone fingernail down the curve of his cheek. Though he didn't necessarily feel her touch, the awareness of the fact still made him cringe. He hated that she took such liberties with him, but what he hated more was that there was little he could do to stop her.

She smiled at him. "You've changed since we last saw each other," Azula remarked nonchalantly, as if she weren't holding him against his will in a dank prison cell. "Are you taller? I almost didn't recognize you. What has it been…almost four years since you last came to visit me…you would have been…what…fifteen…sixteen?" she ventured. Aang stared at her blankly. Undeterred, Azula went on. "I heard you'd married recently. Allow me to offer my congratulations to you and your pretty _wife_."

While none of her other taunts had given Aang pause, the mention of Katara had his eyes flashing. "Don't you even think about going near her," he warned grimly.

"Relax," she laughed, stroking his face once more because she knew it made him uncomfortable and she gained a sick satisfaction in knowing he couldn't twist away from her. "I have what I want right here."

"So…so you planned this?" Aang surmised softly.

"In painful, minute detail," Azula told him. "I even had this cell specially fashioned just for you. It's completely made of wood. No metalbending for you."

"You shouldn't have gone through the trouble," Aang replied dryly. "Really."

Azula gave his chin a squeeze so firm that Aang could faintly detect the pressure. He knew he'd pay for it later when sensation returned. "Nonsense," she cooed. "There's absolutely nothing I wouldn't do for my old nemesis the Avatar. You get the best of me."

"Wow, I'm so lucky."

"Aren't you though?" she returned cheekily.

Though he tried hard to keep himself alert, Azula's words seemed to pass through Aang's ears almost unintelligibly, as if he were caught in a vortex of stiff wind. However, through the fuzziness, Aang was still able to discern that she was taunting him. "What have you done, Azula?" he demanded warily. "What's wrong with me?"

"What?" Azula gasped in feigned innocence. "Are you suddenly going to be all work and no play? You don't want to catch up, Avatar? Make small talk? How do they say…'shoot the breeze?' Isn't that what you expected when you would come to visit _me_ in my cell?" she concluded in an embittered snarl. She leaned in close to hiss against his ear, "Not so delightful now, is it?" And then she leaned back on her haunches to regard him with an almost pleasant smile. "You're probably wondering why you can't move…" she began somewhat airily.

"It crossed my mind," Aang replied wearily.

"Well, that would be the shirshu venom," she provided. "I'm sure you're quite familiar with it. While the toxin doesn't last very long, I'm fortunate enough to have an unlimited supply."

"What…" Aang uttered in disbelief. "Are you saying you have a shirshu…"

"I do now," Azula laughed. "You see, I've learned a great deal from the last time we dealt with each other. I underestimated you once, but never again."

"What do you want from me?" Aang mumbled.

"That answer will come in due time, Avatar," she whispered, her cold stare glittering in the darkness. "But before we go there, I want to fill you in on all the fun things I have planned for you."

"Fun…things…" Aang echoed groggily.

"You see, the reason you feel so confused and fuzzy…that's not the shirshu venom at all. I dosed you with a rather powerful sedative that slows your reflexes and impedes your bending," she explained gleefully. "It's not nearly as effective as what you did to me, but, under the circumstances, it's the next best thing." Her self-satisfied smirk widened. "Your cell is made of wood, your water will be limited to only a few spoonfuls a day and the lack of sunlight in your weakened state won't exactly _help_ your firebending…that is if you could even move to bend. The gist of it is…you'll be in my company for a very long time, Avatar."

"Seems you've thought of everything," Aang remarked in a dull tone.

"I have."

"Are you sure?" Aang slurred. "There may be one, small detail…"

"And what's that?"

She had no sooner voiced the cocky challenge when a strong gust of wind abruptly slammed into her body with the force of a battering ram and sent her careening into the adjacent wooden wall. Aang's satisfaction over his surprise attack, unfortunately, lasted mere seconds because, without Azula holding his chin steady, his head flopped forward with a bone cracking snap, causing his chin to crash into the wooden façade of his stocks with teeth-rattling force. His stomach pitched, his vision blurred and, for a second, Aang actually saw stars. His chin and jaw exploded with pain. He blinked several times, struggling valiantly against the darkness that threatened to swallow him.

"I guess you forgot about airbending," he mumbled to Azula foggily, moments before he slipped off into oblivion. "People always forget that…"

"Princess, are you alright?" JianJun demanded, rushing inside the cell upon hearing the commotion. He bent down quickly to assist a prone Azula to her feet. "What happened?"

"I'm just fine," Azula snapped irritably, shaking off his hold to brush away remnants of sawdust from her smart, Fire Nation ensemble. "The Avatar simply reminded me that I've been remiss about something, however." She stared over at Aang's unconscious form before pinning JianJun with a coldly resolved stare. "From now on, unless attending to a physical need…see to it that he's gagged."

****

Sokka pressed a warm kiss to the crook of Suki's neck. She swiveled around to regard him with a smile. "What are you doing?" she asked lightly.

"Watching you watch my sister," he said, folding down behind her and pulling her back against him so that she could lean into his chest. He draped his arms loosely about her shoulders. "So how long have you been doing that…watching her, I mean?"

Suki shrugged. "She came out to the courtyard after breakfast and sat on the edge of the wall so that she could watch the palace gate," she explained. "I had followed her because I thought she might want to talk, but she hasn't said very much at all. I didn't think she should be alone though so…I've just been sitting here."

Nodding his understanding, Sokka regarded Katara's back with a grim frown. "So…what do you think about all this?" he asked Suki. "Is she being paranoid or do you think there's something to all this concern?"

"I've never seen her this way, Sokka," Suki murmured in concern. She twisted a look up at her husband. "I'm starting to get worried. What about you? Besides Aang, you know her better than anyone in the world. Do you still think it's just separation anxiety?"

Sokka shook his head. "Not anymore," he confessed soberly. "I'm worried too. In the beginning…yeah…I thought she was overreacting, but now… I don't know. I've got a bad feeling."

The last of his statement elicited a groan from Suki. "Not you too."

"Katara had a point last night," Sokka considered. "The Earth Kingdom is full of unrest these days and a lot of blame is being placed on Aang and Zuko. Somebody could have nabbed him for revenge."

"Wouldn't it be pretty difficult to kidnap a fully realized Avatar?" Suki reasoned.

"Difficult, but not impossible," Sokka said. "I think it's something we need to consider."

"Even though we really don't have confirmation that anything is wrong?"

Sokka stared over at his sister, studying her forlorn profile closely. "Katara has pretty good instincts," he declared finally. "If she says that something bad has happened to Aang, I think there might be some truth to it. That's why I've decided that we should leave immediately."

"You want to go to Ba Sing Se, don't you?" Suki surmised. She wasn't surprised when Sokka nodded his confirmation. "But the archers only just left yesterday. Shouldn't we wait for their report first?"

"No, I don't want to do that," Sokka answered with a shake of his head. "If something _has_ happened to Aang, I don't want days to be between us and the person who has him."

"I can be ready in ten minutes," Suki told him.

They'd no sooner rolled to their feet with the half formed plan between them when Katara suddenly perked up on the wall's edge. "They're coming!" she announced jubilantly, her voice trembling with excitement and relief as she pointed at the palace gates below. "It's the Earth King's royal entourage! Aang's back!" Sokka and Suki slumped with relief as Katara whipped past them, making a mental note to herself to apologize to her friends profusely for being such a basket case the last few days. And she would, Katara promised herself, _after_ she had peppered Aang's face with at least a thousand kisses.

She burst from the grand entryway of the palace just as Kuei was alighting form his royal chaise with the aid of his royal guard. Katara only vaguely noted that he traveled with double the amount of manpower that he usually did because she was too preoccupied with the fact Aang and Appa were nowhere in sight. The sky was absolutely clear of all signs of them. Distracted by that glaring oversight, Katara only half-heartedly returned Kuei's greeting embrace. The Earth King, sensing the difference in her almost immediately, mistook the reason for her anxiety.

"Bumi is set to arrive in another day or two," he explained with a smile as Katara craned obvious glances over his shoulder. "The situation in Omashu these days is even more tenuous than the one in Ba Sing Se."

"Does that mean Aang isn't with you?" Katara burst out. "Did he go to join Bumi in Omashu instead?"

"What do you mean?" Kuei questioned with a frown. "Isn't he here?"

"What do you mean 'isn't he here'?" Katara demanded stridently. "He was supposed to be with you!"

The Earth King frowned in confusion. "Whatever gave you that idea?" he asked blankly.

Katara swallowed down the acrid ball of mounting dread rising in her throat, reminding herself rather forcefully that panic would _not_ help the situation. As calmly as she could manage, she recounted to Kuei, "You sent him a message requesting his presence in Ba Sing Se. You said it was important. He left here three days ago!"

"I didn't send a message," Kuei denied.

"It had _your_ seal, the Earth King's seal," Katara insisted a little wildly.

"I did not send any message, Katara," he reiterated.

"Well, maybe someone sent it on your behalf or maybe—,"

"Katara," Kuei interrupted gently. "There were already plans in place to meet with Aang at the end of this week. There would have been no need to send for him."

With that final affirmation, especially given the fact that same thing had occurred to Katara as well, she felt like her world had reduced to a tiny sphere that swirled around those ten, ominous words. _There would have been no need to send for him._ Full-fledged terror erupted in Katara's chest. She snatched up Kuei's hand and began dragging him purposefully towards the palace doors. The Earth King had two clear choices before him: follow her willingly or be summarily dragged. He chose the former, but not without some protest.

"Katara!" he cried in bewildered astonishment. "What are you doing?"

The answer came soon enough when they reached the large, royal sitting room. Without a word of explanation to Kuei, Katara quickly ducked inside to retrieve the two letters before reappearing in the corridor seconds later. She thrust both scrolls at Kuei. "Is that or is that not your seal?" she demanded.

After swiftly scanning the messages and examining the seal, Kuei passed the letters back to Katara. "It's definitely my seal," he confirmed, visibly flustered, "but I didn't send either one of these messages. In fact, I had no knowledge of them at all until you showed them to me just now."

Her worst fears realized, Katara stumbled back against the nearby wall with a dismayed groan. "Oh no…oh, please no…"

"Okay, Katara," Sokka announced suddenly as he and Suki came striding down the hallway towards them. "I think we've given you and Aang more than enough time to do the smoochie-smoochie thing." Suki poked him in the side for the comment, which only provoked a wide, self-satisfied grin. However, any further teasing he had planned died on his lips when he spied his sister's devastated expression. His brows snapped together in a frown of instant concern. "What's wrong?" he demanded. That's when Sokka noticed that Aang was nowhere in sight. "What's going on?" he asked Katara. "Where's Aang?"

"Kuei didn't send the messages, Sokka," Katara revealed woodenly. "Someone used the Earth King's seal to lure Aang away from here. He never even made it to Ba Sing Se. It was all a trick."

"What?" Sokka cried. "Are you sure?"

"I've…I've never seen those letters before at all," Kuei confirmed reluctantly. "I haven't seen the Avatar in more than a month."

"Oh no…" Sokka muttered, echoing his sister's earlier sentiments. "This is bad. This is really bad."

****

Kuei dogged Zuko's steps from one end of the Firelord's private chambers to the other, hardly discouraged by the younger man's wandering attention or the fact Zuko was swatting him away in annoyance. "I know this isn't the best time to discuss it," he persisted as he matched Zuko's steps. "However, with the Avatar missing our situation has become all the more precarious."

"Which is exactly the reason I'm going to look for him," Zuko snapped somewhat impatiently. "Give me a few days to find Aang and bring him back and then we'll straighten out this whole mess."

"I don't know if Ba Sing Se has a few days," Kuei replied direly. "The city is on the brink of a civil uprising. Something must be done."

Zuko whipped to face him with a deep scowl. "You want me to make political decisions _now_?" he demanded incredulously. "I just learned my best friend has been kidnapped and the trail is already three days cold!"

"What do you think will happen when it becomes common knowledge that the Avatar is missing?" Kuei charged softly.

"We can see to it that it doesn't become common knowledge," Zuko replied with equal softness.

"Whoever has taken him has done so at the most inopportune time imaginable," Kuei considered. "I have to believe that's by design, Firelord Zuko. Even if it's your intention to keep the Avatar's kidnapping a secret, I sincerely doubt his kidnappers are of like mind."

"What is it you want me to do?" Zuko bit out. "Aang is missing! I can't stand here arguing with you."

"Then don't argue," Kuei suggested. "Disband the Fire Nation colonies and bring your people home. Relinquish all your influence in the Earth Kingdom and we can end this conflict before it escalates."

Zuko turned away from him to shrug into his overcoat. "So, I'm just supposed to hand over my lands and wealth without a whimper, is that it?" he scoffed in inquiry.

"They are Earth Kingdom lands, Zuko," Kuei returned firmly. "Or have you forgotten that?"

"They may be on Earth Kingdom _soil_, but they are _Fire Nation_ strongholds and they belong to us," Zuko countered. "I will not deliberately turn over my people's land to marauders and militants. You should be protecting my people, as per our alliance agreement, Kuei, not attempting to drive them out of their homes.

"What's more I don't think you'd be pushing me this way if Aang were here right now," he went on brusquely. "It feels as if you're trying to strong-arm me and I don't like it. You're trying to take advantage of my vulnerability and preoccupation with finding Aang to push me into making the decision you want! I won't stand for that!"

"That is not my intention, Zuko," Kuei denied.

"Is that _really_ not your intention?" Zuko challenged, throwing a disbelieving glance over his shoulder at Kuei. "If that's the case, then the business between us can wait until I return with my friend."

"We are on the brink of war, Firelord Zuko!" Kuei declared firmly. "Open your eyes! The Avatar has been kidnapped! For all we know, he may be _dead_!"

"Don't say that!" Zuko snapped harshly, swallowing down the acrid ball of anguish the consideration created. He masked his distress behind affronted fury. "Aang is not dead!"

"I'm sorry. I know it's difficult to hear, but it's a fact we can't ignore," Kuei maintained grimly. "If that does not clue you in about how bad things have gotten, I don't know what will! The decision cannot be postponed any longer. We both know, if the Avatar were here, he would agree with my proposal. In fact, he _has_ agreed. The decision to disband the colonies and return the land to the Earth Kingdom has already been made. It's out of your hands."

Zuko turned to face him in a slow, deliberate pivot. "What did you say?"

Kuei swallowed spasmodically, closing his eyes briefly before reiterating quietly, "The Avatar has already decided to break up the colonies with or without your consent. I'm sorry. None of us wanted it this way."

"You're lying," Zuko refuted in a silky tone.

"It was not an easy decision to come to," Kuei stressed. "We know what the Fire Nation has suffered and the last thing we want is for you to suffer more. The truth is that Aang has been very conflicted about the decision and…and I'm not sure he really _wanted_ to go through with it. But it has to be done. For the sake of peace, it _must_ be done!"

Zuko barely heard the words above the stiff roaring in his ears. Though he didn't explode, anger simmered beneath his calm facade like the inevitable eruption of an active volcano. He wanted to rant and yell. He wanted to break something…or someone. But far more forceful than his anger, far more debilitating was the devastating hurt rolling through him. Zuko literally felt as if he'd been punched in the chest. He felt like a fool. When he thought about the conversation he'd had with Aang only a few days earlier…only to realize now that Aang had long ago made up his mind yet had not spoken a word to him… It broke Zuko's heart, crushed him in an indescribable way.

He was vaguely aware of Kuei behind him, attempting to cajole his consent, but Zuko didn't process a single syllable the Earth King uttered. He could not comprehend anything beyond the painful realization that his best friend, his brother had betrayed him.


	9. Chapter Eight

**Chapter Eight**

"I'm ready!" Katara announced as she skidded into Zuko's throne room. "We should get a move on while we still have daylight!"

"I'm not going," Zuko replied in a dispassionate monotone. He prepared himself for Katara's explosion of temper and she did not disappoint him.

"What?" Katara grated, alarm raising her words to a discordant pitch when she recognized he was being perfectly serious. Despite that realization, she responded with sputtering disbelief. "Are you kidding me right now? What do you mean 'you're not going'? Why? Has something happened?"

"Nothing's happened per se," Zuko replied. "I simply have some urgent matters to handle that can't be ignored presently."

"So you're blowing off the search for Aang…_for business_?" Katara concluded incredulously.

Zuko regarded her with a cold stare from his perch on the platform as his calm façade slipped a notch. "Come on, Katara! How else did you expect me to react?" he queried softly.

"React to what?" Katara demanded impatiently. "Zuko, I don't know what you're talking about and, what's more, I don't have time for riddles right now! Aang is _missing_, remember? What's your problem?"

Rather than answering her directly, Zuko countered her question with one of his own. "Was Aang ever going to tell me what he planned to do about the colonies or was I just going to wake up one morning and find that my people had been stripped of their lands?" he burst out in accusation. Katara's features flashed guiltily before she dropped her eyes away. Zuko emitted a soft, barking laugh. "I guess that answers my next question. You _did_ know what he had planned."

"Zuko, we really don't have time for this…" Katara groaned. "I know you're probably confused and angry right now and I promise I'll explain everything to you on the way to June's—,"

"—On the way to June's?" Zuko interrupted furiously. "Explain it to me now, Katara! Explain to me how Aang could _smile_ in my face only a few days ago and mention _nothing_ about this? I feel like a complete fool!"

"He tried to tell you!" Katara retorted mutinously. "But you didn't want to hear him and, honestly, Aang was so worried about your reaction, he didn't want to be heard! He didn't want to hurt you, Zuko! He didn't want to lose your friendship! You have no idea what this decision has put him through. He agonized over it."

"Right," Zuko grunted. "And am I to believe all that or is this just your desperation to find him talking right now?"

Katara snapped erect with the harsh retort, as if he had physically attacked her. "You're a real jerk, you know that, Zuko?" she declared severely. "Your best friend is missing, possibly worse…" She faltered for a moment at that, unable to even consider the prospect much less finish verbalizing it. After mentally counting to ten and assuring herself that she'd regained some control of her rampaging emotions, Katara began again. "Listen to me, Zuko…now is not the time to get all wrapped up in your hurt feelings. Aang needs you. We'll figure out the rest later."

"Oh, but you see I don't have a _later_," Zuko returned sharply. "I have twenty-four hours to decide whether I will peacefully remove my citizens from Earth Kingdom soil or be forcibly ejected." Katara gasped aloud with that revelation. Zuko uttered a grim bark of laughter. "Exactly. And you see, Kuei and the others involved in this proposal feel perfectly within their boundaries to do so…since Aang gave them his backing. So I've been sitting here trying to decide, do I simply stand back and let them take what rightfully belongs to the Fire Nation or do I fight?"

"Zuko, you can't be thinking…" Katara groaned, shaking her head in denial of his unspoken answer. "You don't want to do that. You don't want to start another war! You'll only undermine everything you and Aang have worked so hard to achieve! Don't let your pride ruin that!"

"My pride?" Zuko sneered. "What pride? Whatever has been asked of me, I have complied…for the good of the world and often at the criticism of my people. You wanted troops. I provided troops. You wanted resources. I provided resources. You wanted support in the rebuilding work. I provided support. There has been nothing I have held back from doing for the sake of peace! But I am drawing the line at handing over the colonies! I sacrificed and fought right alongside Aang to restore the Earth Kingdom as best I could. I formed alliances. I've signed peace treaties and I've taken an active part in quelling the insurgences there. As far as I'm concerned, I've fulfilled my obligation to them."

"Zuko, the colonies are on Earth Kingdom soil!" Katara cried. "You can't ignore that!"

"And they have _been_ on Earth Kingdom soil for more than a century now!" he flung back. "No one had an issue with that until those areas became prosperous and wealthy following the war's end."

"Can you really blame them?" Katara wondered softly. "There are portions of the Earth Kingdom that still struggle in the aftermath of the war. Some towns have been wiped out for good and then they look around and see Fire Nation colonies becoming just as strong as the cities of Ba Sing Se and Omashu! The Fire Nation is slowly building an empire on Earth Kingdom land! It's a concern to some people, Zuko!"

"Perhaps, they wouldn't worry so much about the Fire Nation becoming great if they put some effort into making themselves great instead?" Zuko retorted.

"Are you listening to yourself?" Katara tossed back scornfully. "Is that Fire Nation propaganda you're spouting at me right now?"

"It's the truth," Zuko uttered.

Katara flicked him with a disappointed glare. "You are taking this much too personally, Zuko," she said, "and it's not about you. This isn't an affront to you. This is about doing what we've _always_ done. This is about keeping peace. Isn't any sacrifice worthwhile if it's with keeping that goal in mind?"

"Is this really about me keeping the peace or is it about Aang saving face?" Zuko charged softly.

"How can you even ask me that question at a time like this?" Katara accused him in painfully exhaled breath. "What's wrong with you?"

Zuko's reactive flinch was hidden in the shadows the leaping flames behind his throne cast across his features. He wasn't immune to Katara's argument. In fact, he was full of conflict. Political factions were being torn apart. Aang could have been, very likely, stolen by the very people who wanted the Fire Nation out. The circumstances weren't good. Factor in also that Aang had yet to be seen or heard from and fear and worry nearly inundated Zuko. Kuei had been right. Aang had disappeared at a most inopportune time. Pure anarchy threatened, which made it all the more likely that the Avatar hadn't merely been taken out of commission for a time. It was possible that he had been disposed of altogether.

The sheer agony that thought caused had Zuko wincing inwardly. Part of him wanted to do nothing more than tear the countryside apart until he found Aang. He also wanted to find the people who had taken his friend, who had terrorized them all, and he wanted to make them pay for a very long time. Refusing Katara's request for him to go with her was killing him inside, especially when she was staring at him as she was presently…as if she were looking upon the face of an absolute stranger. Zuko hated that, but at the same time, he hated her for boxing him in and Aang for placing him in such a tight, unrelenting position in the first place.

Even if he weren't a powder keg of undiluted rage, churning fear and sweeping self-doubt, the fact remained that Zuko couldn't have left even if he weren't a mass of muddled emotions. His country was in a very uncertain position and was likely to be attacked at any given moment. His people were vulnerable.

Under the circumstances, Zuko could not, _would not_ leave his people unattended during such a time. As Firelord, he had to be ready to react on their behalf. Kuei had given him little choice in the matter. The rebellious factions continuing to plague his colonies had given him little choice. Aang, his own dear friend and comrade, had given him little choice. And while Zuko felt he was being ripped apart from the inside out over all these things, he knew he had to consider his duty first…just as Aang had done. Just as all of his friends would do if they found themselves in similar circumstances.

"I can't go with you," he reiterated to Katara. "I will tell you how to find June and I'll supply you with whatever you need for the journey, Katara, but I can't go with you. I won't."

His words brought stinging tears to Katara's eyes. "You're…you're unbelievable," she gasped in a disgusted tone. "I know you can still be a selfish idiot sometimes, Zuko, but I never thought you were this bad. This puts what you did back in Ba Sing Se all those years ago to shame!"

"Don't do that to me, Katara!" he barked emotionally. "Don't throw my past in my face! It's not fair!"

"You have the nerve to talk to _me_ about fair?" she charged, brushing away the furious tears that fell on her cheeks. "I thought you were different. I thought after what we went through together to end the war, you understood how important it was to prevent something like that from ever happening again."

"I do understand!" Zuko ground out.

"Do you?" Katara challenged. "How is this any different from what you did in Ba Sing Se, Zuko? You let an entire city fall! Because of your actions that day Aang _died_! You stood by and let it all happen for the sake of your precious honor! Your stupid pride! You're doing the exact same thing now!"

"If you can't understand the position I'm in—," Zuko began woodenly.

"I don't care what position you're in!" Katara fired wrathfully. "Aang is _gone_! All I know is that if you don't walk out of here with me…if you abandon Aang when he needs you the most, Zuko… You're dead to me! Our friendship is over!"

Although every word she spoke was lacerating him with guilt and pain, Zuko remained resolved, even a bit detached as he regarded her. He had to be detached. Otherwise, he'd never be able to do what he needed to do. "You do what you have to do, Katara," he bid her softly. "I don't want you to hate me and I certainly don't want to lose your friendship, but if that's the way it has to be, I wish you the best of luck. I honestly do, but I can't leave my people now. I'm sorry."

Sickened and disillusioned, Katara raked him with a glare of unadulterated hatred. "So much for being a changed man," she scoffed bitterly. "Your father would be very proud of you, Firelord Zuko." She turned her back on him then, completely missing the silent, angry tears that tracked down his cheeks as she left.

Katara stomped from the throne room in a rage, only to be brought up short in the corridor directly outside the throne room when she found Sokka, Suki and Toph waiting for her. One glance at their sheepish expressions confirmed that all three had received an earful. Katara's jaw knotted in aggravation.

"So, I suppose you heard all that?"she surmised tartly, striding straight for the sitting room to retrieve her gear. Unsurprisingly, her friends followed closely behind her. From his fluffy pallet near the window, Momo watched them all with woebegone eyes. "I'm not apologizing," Katara declared, "if that's what you guys are waiting for."

"Yeah," Suki confirmed reluctantly. "We pretty much got that impression."

"That was…uh…a pretty intense discussion you guys were having," Sokka hedged. "You didn't actually mean any of that stuff you said to him, did you?"

"I meant every word," Katara replied brusquely, slinging her pack over her shoulder. "Listen, I can't take Momo with me on this journey." From his little bed, the lemur perked up with listening ears. "He's still recovering and he needs rest. Will one of you stay behind and look after him while I'm gone…for however long that is. Make sure he has plenty of treats. He doesn't get pampered enough."

At the suggestion, Momo started to recline back into his pallet with a self-satisfied chitter when Hawky squawked ominously. He slid a look over to bird, who sat perched on the back of a nearby chair. The gleam in the hawk's eyes could be described as nothing less than feral delight. Momo had a very good indication then his convalescence was not going to be filled with the "rest and relaxation" Katara had envisioned at all. Momo whimpered a bit.

"Wait!" Sokka cried. "You're just going to go off alone and while you're _mad _too?"

"What's the difference?" Katara asked.

"This difference is that you were being way too harsh with Zuko, Katara," Toph interjected, definitely the bolder of the three and the least intimidated by Katara's wrath. "Take a second to consider what he's up against right now. It's not easy for him."

"You know what, Toph?" Katara fired shortly. "I don't have time to stand here and listen to you make excuses for him! You want to hold his hand? Go right ahead! I'm going to find my husband!" She pinned her brother and friends with a glower full of contempt. "You three do what you want!"

Sokka caught her firmly by the forearm when she would have walked away. "Stop it, Katara!" he admonished her sharply. "Stop attacking everyone when all we're doing is trying to help you! You're not the only one who's worried and scared! So are we! So is Zuko! We love Aang too!"

His stinging criticism penetrated and left Katara abruptly stripped of her anger and emotionally vulnerable. Her blue eyes glistened with tears and lower lip trembled. "I'm just…I'm really scared, Sokka," she confessed in a hoarse whisper. "I'm so scared."

"I know," he said, pulling her close for a tight hug. Mere seconds later, Suki and Toph joined as well, transmitting every ounce of love and support they could into their embrace. "Listen, you're going to find him and he's going to be okay," Sokka told Katara when they all broke apart. "In the meantime, however, there is a lot more going on than just Aang's disappearance. You need to understand that, Katara. Zuko can't just drop everything."

"But he's talking like Aang lied to him, like it was some kind of trick!" Katara protested. "And that's not true or fair! The last thing Aang wanted was to hurt him!"

"And I think Zuko knows that deep down inside," Sokka considered. "He just needs the space to figure that out for himself and that's not going to happen on anyone's timetable besides his own. Getting up in his face and yelling at him isn't going to help matters. You don't want to say or do something you'll regret later because you're angry and hurt. Zuko needs all the friends he can have right now. So do you."

"I guess…" Katara mumbled, still unwilling to concede that she might have been wrong or hasty in her reaction at all.

Sokka framed her shoulders and released a massive sigh over her stubbornness. "Go find Aang," he said. "Toph and Suki will go with you. You can get help from Iroh to track June down. I'll stay here with Zuko and see what I can do to help out here on the home front. I have a bad feeling things are about to get really ugly."

****

Ursa sat in the guest area of Donghai Aiguo, picking at the microscopic flecks of lint on her crimson skirts and trying not to grow too impatient with the fact it was taking so long to retrieve her daughter. Impatience, however, was a good thing. The emotion was a far cry from the nervous trepidation she used to feel whenever she would come to visit her daughter. In those days, her heart would knock so hard and fast in her chest that she had actually felt faint on some occasions.

What a difference a year made, Ursa mused to herself. If someone had told her even six months earlier that she would make a joke and her daughter would laugh, Ursa would have questioned that person's sanity. Frosty, monosyllabic conversations were one thing, but actual enjoyment of each other's company, however? A tentative bond of friendship forming between them? That was more than Ursa had ever hoped for.

Yet, over time and with a great deal of perseverance, that was exactly what had occurred. Almost quietly and without any real forewarning, Azula had begun to open up to her. They seldom talked about Zuko unless Ursa had some particular news to share with her, like the birth of Zuko's sons, because Ursa had learned early on that the subject of her brother was a hot button issue for Azula. If ever she wanted to have her daughter shut down the conversation completely, mentioning Zuko was a sure means of doing so. After some time, Ursa stopped trying.

While it bothered her greatly that Azula seemingly expressed no remorse for the heinous crimes she'd committed, particularly against her brother, Ursa also recognized that she wasn't going to hurry Azula along that path by bringing up her past misdeeds either. And it wasn't as if Azula felt compelled to justify her life decisions. She seemed to have a clear understanding that what she'd done was evil and wrong. She simply didn't regret it. The realization both chilled and intrigued Ursa at the same time because, while Azula's actions could definitely be construed as heartless, she was not without a heart. The enigma both intrigued and frightened her mother.

Unfortunately, with her brother, her choices and her past off the table for discussion, that left very little room for what Azula and Ursa _could_ talk about. Consequently, they spoke of mundane things: the weather, food preferences and hair styles. In an ironic twist, however, it was the latter innocuous conversation that opened up a deeper line of communication between mother and daughter. It had begun with something as simple as discussing a haircut…

**

"_I don't think it will matter much if you leave your hair short or long, Azula, though I do prefer it longer," Ursa told her daughter as Azula surveyed her reflection in the full length mirror. "You're a beautiful girl, regardless."_

_Azula turned to face her, visibly taken off guard by the compliment. "You really think that?"_

"_Sweetheart," Ursa laughed, "you know very well that you're a pretty girl. You probably had dozens of boyfriends in my absence."_

"_Not dozens," Azula evaded dryly._

"_But someone special definitely," her mother prodded, eager for some small glance into her daughter's life, even if it was something as trivial as a former boyfriend._

"_No," Azula refuted. "Not even someone special. I've never had a boyfriend at all, Mother."_

"_But…but you've been in love before, haven't you?"_

_Azula threw back her head and laughed at the very idea. "In love?" she scoffed. "Me? No. I'm not even capable of that emotion."_

_Ursa frowned at her answer. "Everyone has the capacity to love, Azula."_

"_Not me," Azula maintained. "Not ever. In fact, I've never loved a single person in my entire life."_

_The revelation was stung and Ursa had a difficult time blinking back the tears Azula's reply provoked. "Not a single person?" she queried thickly. "You never loved anyone, Azula?"_

_A flash of vulnerability chased its way across Azula's features only to be swiftly concealed behind a mask of indifference. "That's exactly right, Mom," she said again. "I've never loved anyone."_

**

Ursa had no idea why she found herself replaying that conversation in her head now. On the day it had happened, she'd been devastated and defeated but later, when she'd had more time to reflect on matters, Ursa had decided that Azula was lying. Her daughter was, after all, quite accomplished in that area. There had been something in Azula's eyes that day, something timid and full of longing… Ursa had little doubt that her daughter had loved people before…she was only deathly terrified that they would not love her in return.

That was the very reason Ursa persisted with her visits, even when forming a closer bond with Azula was sometimes as slow and agonizing as extracting teeth. She wanted to disabuse her daughter of the notion that she was unlovable. She wanted to heal the canyon sized crack in Azula's heart. She wanted to see her daughter become the woman she knew she could be. It was going to happen…Ursa refused to allow herself to consider otherwise.

She was mentally reinforcing her conviction on that score when she spied Azula's personal physician passing in the adjacent hallway. For weeks now she had been attempting to pin the man down for a report on Azula's progress, but he was always nearly impossible to find. On occasion, she would receive messages from him via hawk apprising her of Azula's progress or lack thereof, but it had seemed like ages since she'd spoken with him personally. Frowning, she shifted to her feet and quickly charged after him. He was halfway down the corridor when she snagged hold of his robe. He regarded her with a curious look, as if he'd never seen her before.

"Doctor," Ursa said. "I've been waiting to see my daughter for nearly an hour now and no one has brought her down to me. Could you tell me what the delay is?"

"I will be happy to assist you," he said. "Please, give me your daughter's name and I will have an attendant fetch her immediately."

Ursa stared at him blankly. "Doctor, you know my daughter's name," she replied. "You've been treating her for the past six years. Are you feeling unwell?"

"My apologies…if you could, please, refresh my memory…" he said. "I'm so embarrassed."

"Azula," Ursa enunciated. "My daughter is Princess Azula of the Fire Nation."

The doctor let out a strong bark of laughter. "You must be mistaken, my dear. The princess is not my patient," he chuckled. "She is, however, a close personal friend. I only just visited her in the royal palace a week prior. I have no idea why you would think her to be here of all places."

"Excuse me?" Ursa huffed, tendrils of alarm beginning to scream down her spine. "She was here only last week!"

Sensing her disquietude and completely oblivious to the reason behind it, the doctor reached out to give her hand a reassuring pat. "You must have her confused with another, my dear," he told her with a kind smile. "It's okay. That can happen from time to time. But let me assure you, Princess Azula is not a patient here. She never has been."


	10. Chapter Nine

**Chapter Nine**

"I'm beginning to forget exactly why I should feel compelled to help you, Princess," Long Feng informed Azula in a bored tone when he found her making herself at home in his private study.

She had a tray of sweets spread out before her and, it was quite evident from the disarray, that she'd been going through his personal belongings and confidential files. He knew better than to order her to keep out of his things. By now, Long Feng understood that Azula did as Azula pleased.

With a nonchalant air, she propped her booted legs onto his desk and crossed them at the ankles. "Then allow me to refresh your memory," she drawled sweetly. "You want to go up against the Fire Nation and _I_ happen to know all the Fire Nation's military vulnerabilities. If you want to stage a successful invasion, you are going to need my help, Long Feng, otherwise you'll be stopped and annihilated long before you cross Fire Nation waters. Oh and then there's that small matter of me having the Avatar…" She cocked her head to the side with an amused smirk. "I'd say you more than need me. I should be your new best friend."

"I heartily disagree. I think it's _you_ who needs _me_, Princess Azula," Long Feng challenged, "and not the other way around."

"Hmm…I prefer to think of ours as a more symbiotic relationship," Azula tossed back at him. "It's a wonderful balance of give and take."

"You mean where _I_ give and _you_ take?" Long Feng queried bitterly.

Azula lifted her shoulders in a shrug. "Why upset the wonderful dynamic we already have between us?"

Aggravated by her apparent inability to take him seriously, Long Feng moved to stand over her, resisting the inclination to sweep her legs from his desk and throttle her when the two Dai Li agents standing guard took two menacing steps forward. "I grow weary of your games," he told her in a tightly controlled tone. "Either you produce the Avatar or our deal, such as it is, is done."

Not surprisingly, Azula called his bluff. "I'll produce the Avatar when I'm ready, Long Feng, and only then," she said. "You're beginning to test my patience with these ultimatums. Are you always so cranky in the afternoon?"

"Why are you even here?" he demanded irately, fed up with being her bit of side amusement. "How do you expect to just stride in here at the eleventh hour and take over?"

"Because I can and I have," Azula replied dismissively. "The transition will go so much smoother if you just learn to accept it. And, in harmony with that fact, I think it's time you introduced me to my generals, Long Feng. The men should know exactly whom they are following."

"Not a chance," Long Feng scoffed. After raking her with a sneering glance, he turned away and clasped his hands behind his back in a thoughtful pose. "You may continue to hold the Dai Li enthralled, but I am immune. Therefore, I'm afraid you have no room to bargain here, Princess," he decided, "and you are wasting my time."

Though it was evident he was threatening her, _baiting_ her, Azula was hardly intimidated. In fact, she had to resist the urge to laugh outright altogether. It actually pleased her that Long Feng continued to put up such resistance. She'd have all the more fun breaking him down.

"Long Feng, really," she began softly, "have you ever known me to bluff in the past?" He did not turn to face her, but the subtle stiffening of his shoulders alerted Azula to the fact her words had found their mark. "Do you want to chance it now? Are you truly willing to gamble with the possibility?"

"I have absolutely no reason to trust you," Long Feng considered.

"No, you don't," Azula agreed, moving to her feet to circle him like a prowling predator. "In fact, I wouldn't recommend it at all. But the fact remains, we need each other. The Dai Li keep me well informed as to how you are viewed among the troops. Some are doubtful that you can lead them to victory. It would not take a great deal for me to capitalize on that fact, especially with the Avatar's whereabouts still unknown."

"And you're not in a much better position to inspire trust," Long Feng countered coldly. "You've failed twice already, first losing your mind and then losing your bending. You're disgraced. Who, besides the Dai Li, would be idiotic enough to follow you into battle?"

"Yes, you have a point," Azula conceded. "But, I've learned through past experience, that people go where the power is. Once I make it known that I have the Avatar, I don't think I'll have very much trouble convincing your army to follow me. But that's a messy and complicated process and I'd rather avoid such ugliness, wouldn't you?

"As I mentioned to you before," she continued almost seductively, "this can be an arrangement that works out in both our favors. You keep mentioning how you can do this without me," she said, coming around to face him fully, "but I think we both know that _I_ can do this without you." Though Long Feng remained silent, his eyes flashed with uncertainty. Azula wasted no time pouncing on that single vulnerability and exploiting it. "Think about it," she cajoled. "You're poised on the cusp of having everything you want…are you really going to jeopardize it all simply because you hate me?"

Azula watched as Long Feng calculated the pros and cons in his own mind, knowing she had him long before he verbally acquiesced. "If I introduce you to the troops…"

"_When_ you introduce me," she corrected.

"_When_ I introduce you," Long Feng amended dutifully, "I need your word that you will keep the Avatar under control until the invasion is complete. Neither of us can afford any mistakes."

"Don't you worry about the Avatar, Long Feng," Azula told him. "I have plans for him that are entirely personal."

****

It was a two day journey to reach the outer walls of Ri Shan, a thriving Fire Nation metropolis just off the coast, equipped with its own university, elaborate transportation system, military elite and political construct…all of which were controlled by the Firelord. It was little surprise then that Ri Shan was quickly becoming known among the Earth Kingdom citizens as the foreign city, a place that was both envied and despised. The striking grandeur of the city was a far cry from its humble beginnings.

At its start, Ri Shan had been little more that a small fishing community. Due to its location along the coast, it was one of the first places the Fire Nation invaded and occupied when the war began. In those early days, it had served as little more than a training base for Fire Nation soldiers, before they moved out to deeper territories within the Earth Kingdom. More than one hundred years had transformed the city into something infinitely more impressive, with its thick, earthen walls fortified with steel that rose even beyond the tree tops of the forest beyond and its grand, sprawling estates within.

Ri Shan had now become home to some of the Fire Nation's most politically, socially and materially affluent families. Now the little fishing town was a great fortified city, a very rich city that housed both Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation citizen alike. Yet, in spite of its location and diverse populace, it fell completely under the dominion and law of the ruling Firelord. That fact was beginning to annoy some Earth Kingdom residents.

While Zuko's rule had proven to be nothing like his father's or his grandfather's, there were some who still resented his figurative presence in the Earth Kingdom. Ri Shan's growing size and opulence only heightened that resentment. A Fire Nation stronghold on Earth Kingdom soil? A grand city that was quickly growing to rival even their own magnificent capital, Ba Sing Se? No, that could not stand. As a result of that prevailing attitude, Earth Kingdom armies were now encamped outside the great walls of Ri Shan, ready, able and eager to take back what they felt rightfully belonged to them.

Azula carefully bit back her smirk of amusement as she rode into the camp behind Long Feng on her squawking ostrich-horse. Ri Shan was a perfect example of what her late father had envisioned for the Fire Nation, for the entire world… He had foreseen himself as sovereign of it all. That his dream should be realized to an extent under the ruler- ship of his despised only son was ironic. That Azula would be the one to crush that precious dream and build her own empire upon its ashes…that was destiny.

A surge of whispers began reverberating through the camp as she trailed behind Long Feng. The soldiers' expressions ranged from curiosity to outright hatred. Rather than being cowed by the avid attention, however, Azula fed off of it. She held her chin at a haughty angle, the corner of her lips turned in a proverbial smirk.

When General Fong caught sight of them as he poked at the fire outside his tent, he rose to greet them, the look on his face caught somewhere between absolute shock and utter dismay. Long Feng had barely dismounted before the general was plucking him by the elbow and leading him away for "a private word." The surrounding Earth Kingdom soldiers stared at Azula in their absence. She stared back…and won.

"When I received your message that you were bringing along someone who would aid in our cause, _she _was not what I had in mind," General Fong hissed under his breath. "Have you lost your senses, man?"

"Relax, Fong," Long Feng replied mildly. "Princess Azula is our ally now."

"Of course," Fong patronized with a serenity he did not feel. "That answers my question perfectly. You _are_ insane!"

"Who else is in a better position to reveal to us the Fire Nation's weaknesses?" Long Feng considered.

"And at what cost?" General Fong bit out. "That girl is a loose cannon. Her own family can't control her! What makes you think we'll have any success? How do you even know she's not manipulating you now? She has done that before, has she not?"

Long Feng swallowed back the sharp retort that rose on his lips and answered between clenched teeth, "The Princess came to _me_ this time. I don't doubt her motives are sincere." It took monumental effort to choke out the lie, but somehow Long Feng managed to do so and with absolute earnestness. "You can trust her, Fong."

General Fong stared at Long Feng. "Trust her?" he sneered. "I barely trust _you._"

"I can understand your reservations," Azula said, startling both men when she crept up behind them. "I haven't proven to be a friend of the Earth Kingdom in the past." Though he said not a word, the look on General Fong's face clearly screamed, "You think?" Azula favored him with a disarming smile. "Long Feng is right," she told him. "I am no longer the girl I once was."

Fong regarded her with a speculative stare, stroking his beard in reaction to the declaration. "No longer that girl, hmm?" he considered. "And why exactly should I take your word for that, Princess?"

"No, not Princess," Azula corrected softly. "Azula." Fong's eyes widened in surprise at the invitation while Long Feng merely stared at her, mouth agape. "_Princess Azula_ was a weapon and a machine used to carry out her father's bidding," Azula clarified, "and I am no longer that person. _My_ choices. _My destiny_ is now my decision."

"And what exactly does that mean for us, Prin…_Azula_," Fong stressed in correction. "We can't take part in your journey to find yourself! This is a war, young lady, not a coming of age story! What exactly is it that you think you can do for us?"

Whereas one time, Azula would have had the man flogged for his insolence, this time she wisely held her tongue. Let him view her as an equal now, perhaps even beneath him if he wished. Relinquishing the title "princess" would be a small thing in comparison to the title she would gain…"emperor." No one would stop her. In fact, _they_ would be the ones to insist upon it. She was already laying the seeds.

"I want to help you take back your homeland," Azula declared. When the general scoffed at that, she laid her hands wide in an entreating gesture. "I come before you, humbled, without weapons or bending. I wish to serve your nation…please?"

"Why would you want to do that?" Fong challenged. "You were the very one who conquered Omashu _and_ Ba Sing Se in your father's name. Now you speak of serving the Earth Kingdom? It's absurd!"

"Consider what you said a moment ago," Azula replied. "I captured Omashu and Ba Sing Se in my _father's_ name, not my own." She paused a moment to let that sink in before she continued. "General, you were not the only one who lived in fear of Firelord Ozai's brutal tyranny. It was not an easy thing growing up in such a household." She did not say more than that, but the telltale flicker in General Fong's eyes let her know that she had made precious inroads. "During the war, I'm sure we all did the things we had to in order to survive…perhaps even some things we are not very proud of," she continued. "I cannot change my past, but I can help you to secure your future."

"What's in it for you?" Fong asked suspiciously.

"Peace of mind," Azula prevaricated with counterfeit sincerity. "I…I haven't had very much of that in recent years. I thought perhaps helping to rebuild what I destroyed would help soothe my troubled spirit."

General Fong was well aware of the rumors that had circulated about the young Fire Nation princess and how it had been alleged that she'd lost her mind. In the beginning, it had been theorized that her own thirst for power and control had been her mental undoing, but now that he saw her with his own eyes, Fong questioned that. Perhaps political avarice hadn't been her downfall at all. Perhaps it had been her own guilty conscience. In considering that, Fong felt himself softening towards her, even without making the conscious decision to do so.

"So it is your intention to help us breach the Fire Nation's borders?" he concluded.

"In order to do so you will have to bypass the naval fleet and sneak in quietly," Azula told him. "You will never win in a head to head battle against the Fire Navy. I know the thin spots in the blockade where we can slip in quietly."

"Yes, but it's not enough to know the Fire Nation's weaknesses," General Fong pointed out. "Once the Avatar learns of our attack on Ri Shan, he will come here and passing through your 'thin spots' will be a moot point."

"The Avatar will not be an issue for you," Azula determined confidently.

"And you know this because?" Fong challenged.

"Because I have him in my custody," she replied, shocking General Fong anew. "The Fire Nation has weaknesses and so does the Avatar."

"Why should I believe you?" Fong queried in a wary tone.

"I am helping you, am I not?" Azula countered. "Taking the Avatar out of the equation helps me as well."

"And how exactly did you do that?"

"It doesn't matter," Azula replied. "What matters is that I have him. He is unharmed. I merely have him tucked away until our task is accomplished." An uneasy look passed over General Fong's features. "I realize it sounds like a daring move," she continued, "but we must be daring. Do you honestly believe that the Avatar would let any attack against the Firelord stand, even while injustice is being played out? I know that the Avatar was responsible for ending the war before and I commend him, but the years have proven that he is hardly unbiased when it comes to the Firelord. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Surely you can understand that, General Fong?"

Azula had done her research on him already, so she knew very well he would get her point. It was the very reason she had insisted that Long Feng take her directly to him instead of one of the other generals. She knew if she made her case convincingly with Fong, it would take little effort to get the others to fall in line.

Unaware that he was being worked by a master manipulator, General Fong thought back to the time he'd attempted to force the Avatar into the avatar state to prevent further death and injury to his troops. "I do understand," the general murmured quietly. Indeed, desperate times had called for desperate measures. But he had failed in that regard. He did not want Azula to meet with the same failure and he told her that.

"There will be no failure," Azula declared. "I have had a great deal of time to consider how this should be played out. When the Fire Nation is purged and vanquished for good, then I will release the Avatar. By then, it will be too late for him to do anything about it. Furthermore, it won't be necessary for him to act. The war will be over and not because he ended it but because _we_ did. Perhaps the world we'll see that we have no need of an Avatar, after all."

Fong stroked his beard once more, clearly seduced by her arguments. "I must gather together the other generals together to discuss this," he said. "Please, make yourself comfortable in the meantime. I will find you when we've reached a decision."

"Of course," Azula murmured, bowing respectfully. "I am your humble servant." As she watched the general walk away, Long Feng came to stand alongside her. The two exchanged a subtle, sneering look.

"Bravo, Princess," he commended in a low tone. "What a stirring performance! You're a more accomplished liar than I gave you credit for. Even _I _almost believed you."

"Yes, I am rather accomplished, aren't I?" Azula agreed with a breezy sigh. "You'd do well not to forget it."

****

"I miss Appa!" Toph sighed despondently. "This balloon business is for the birds!"

At the mention of the missing bison, Katara's expression became even more downtrodden than before and Suki elbowed Toph in the ribs to quell any further mention of him. "Hey! What was that for?" Toph grumbled. Unfortunately, Suki's efforts to quiet Toph down came too late. Their antics had already caught Katara's attention.

"It's okay, Suki," she sighed. "I miss Appa too. Flying just isn't the same without him."

"See?" Toph crowed triumphantly.

Ignoring her, Suki rose to cross over to the other side of the balloon where Katara sat, politely scooting past the firebender who diligently fed the furnace. She sat down beside Katara and looped an arm around the younger woman's shoulder. "You know, wherever Aang is, at least he's not alone," Suki considered. "He has Appa. That's a small comfort, right?"

"Yeah, I guess…" came Katara's lackluster response.

Suki gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "Katara, come on," she rallied. "He's going to be okay. You have to keep believing that."

"I know he'll be okay," Katara agreed. "Aang can take care of himself. It's only that I worry about the next time and the time after that and the time after that…"

"I don't know what you mean," Suki said with a frown.

"I had thought that after the war ended things would be calmer," Katara whispered. "I never expected that Aang and I would lead a normal life or anything, but I thought that the running was finally over, you know? I never imagined that he'd still be hunted this way. After all he's done on the world's behalf, he's still an object of hatred for some people. I can't understand it."

"Katara, I know it's hard to hear, but not everyone is going to appreciate Aang's efforts," Suki considered pragmatically. "There's always going to be someone out there looking to stir up seditious thoughts. That's why we need Aang. He's the perfect example of what we all should be. Even with unlimited power in his grasp, he's never used it to further his own agenda. He always puts the interest of people first."

"And we see how much his efforts are appreciated," Katara muttered bitterly.

"Don't do that," Suki entreated her. "Don't lose faith in the whole world because of what one bad person did, Katara. I think people are just very confused right now. That's all." Rather than acknowledge the wisdom in her sister's-in-law words, Katara turned her face towards the wind. Suki sighed. "I know you're worried about Aang," she acknowledged softly. "I can only imagine how crazy I'd be if Sokka were missing, but… It seems to me that something else is bothering you, Katara." Her intuitive assertion had Katara favoring her with a fleeting glance. "I'm not saying you have to talk about it," Suki rushed out. "But, if you want to, I'll listen."

Katara nibbled on her lower lip, silently considering the offer before confessing in a suffocated tone, "Before Aang left, we talked about starting a family."

"Oh…oh my," Suki stammered, her blue eyes wide with surprise. "Does that mean…are you…?"

"No," Katara interjected sadly before Suki could fully voice the question. "At least," she amended with a slight frown, "I don't _think_ I am. It's too early to tell."

"Wow, another baby…" Suki breathed out happily. "I can't wait."

"Well, not yet," Katara cautioned her. "Not for sure anyway. But hopefully soon."

"Then that's a good thing, right?" Suki asked.

"I thought so," Katara replied. "Now, with everything that's happened, I feel like I was fooling myself."

"How do you mean?" Suki asked. "Fooling yourself about what?"

"I had this amazing fantasy that Aang and I would start a family, settle down somewhere together and lead a relatively quiet life," she revealed softly. "I mean, I know he's the Avatar and he always will be, but…I just thought that was something we could keep separate from _us_." Katara shrugged dejectedly. "I don't know…I guess those few weeks we spent together alone at the Southern Air Temple really made an impact on me. They were some of the best days of my life, Suki."

"Oh, I'll just bet they were," her friend laughed.

Katara nudged her playfully. "Not just because of _that_," she denied with a laughing eye roll. "Though, we did do plenty of that." She surveyed Suki with a cheeky, sideways smile. "Lots and lots of that."

"Oh, Katara! You are so wrong!" Suki balked, though she was absolutely ecstatic to see a smile on Katara's face. It was the first one in days. "Just do yourself a favor…never make mention of _that_ to your brother. He likes to think that you and Aang just sat around the campfire all day, holding hands and singing songs."

Shaking her head in chagrin, Katara stifled a giggle. "Yeah, well we did that too," she admitted. "We did lots of stuff…we planted a garden…we explored the temple together. Aang showed me how to make fruit pies. We had water fights. We played hide and seek with Appa and Momo. Appa lost a lot," she recalled wryly, provoking a snicker from Suki.

"We went gliding together," Katara continued. "We meditated together. Sometimes we'd just sit around the fire and talk for hours about nothing and everything, and we laughed…" She smiled to herself in memory. "We laughed so much, Suki. It was like we were the only two people in the world. We were just Katara and Aang. It was wonderful."

"Sounds romantic," Suki murmured.

"It was," Katara agreed before her expression became shuttered and despondent once more. "But I don't suppose any of that was real, huh?" She regarded Suki with a melancholy stare. "It was destined not to last. Things like that never do."


	11. Chapter Ten

**Chapter Ten**

"You're an idiot."

Zuko turned a sour look towards his wife as she sprawled out beside him on their bed. His lips quirked in a slight smile, he rolled onto his side to face her, propping himself up onto his elbow. "That's all you have to say to me?" he wondered petulantly.

"Oh right…you're a _big_ idiot," Mai amended, straight-faced.

"Thanks, Mai," he replied dryly. "You always know the right words to say to lift my spirits."

After nearly five years of marriage, Zuko understood by now that his wife was not the coddling type. She was not going to gather him to her figurative bosom and stroke his hurt away and, quite honestly, Zuko was glad for that. He didn't necessarily want someone to kiss his booboos. Rather, he wanted someone to sympathize with his plight and Mai's dispassionate greeting confirmed that she was _not_ that someone.

It was already early evening and even with most of the day gone, Zuko felt he'd accomplished very little. He had spent the majority of his morning well into the afternoon closeted away with his Council, debating on whether or not a preemptive strike against the Earth Kingdom was necessary. Afterwards, he had met with his generals to propose military strategies, as many were unsure which threat was more imminent; rebel insurgences or allies who were quickly on the road to becoming _former _allies if their demands concerning the colonies were not met.

To Zuko, the entire day had seemed almost surreal. Here, he and Aang had spent literal years, tireless years struggling to rebuild what had been lost in the first war and now, here they were again, on the brink of yet another. The worst of it was, Zuko could hardly feel the urgency of the moment at all. His thoughts were too twisted up with worry for Aang. It wasn't simply that Aang's disappearance made an already untenable political situation even worse. It was the simple fact that his friend had been missing for five days now and no one knew where he was. Even as angry, confused and hurt as Zuko was, Aang continued to consume his thoughts. Though he wouldn't acknowledge it, even to himself, he felt guilty for not accompanying Katara and that guilt was eating him alive.

"Mai, I need someone to talk to," he entreated his wife glumly. "This day was too horrible for words."

"I'm willing to bet Aang had a worse one," Mai countered. "Or do you suppose the people holding him are treating him pretty well?"

Zuko scowled at her. "Was that really necessary?" he demanded crossly.

"I'm just saying what I _know_ you're thinking, Zuko."

"No," he denied, flopping onto his back.

"Yes," she insisted, shifting upright to stare him down. "And that's why you're an idiot. Because you know you're making a stupid move, you just don't want to admit it."

"Gee…thanks for that assessment, Mai," he retorted sarcastically. "And, for the record, this _isn't_ what I wanted to talk about."

"You wanted to talk, Zuko, so here's your chance," she informed him with a fatigued sigh. "I am the mother of two active twin boys. Sleep is a very precious commodity to me these days. I don't feel like taking the extended tour around your angst this time. Try to address what's really bothering you and we'll take it from there."

"Wow, your sympathy is overwhelming," he uttered dryly.

"It's hard to be sympathetic when you bring most of the misery you suffer on yourself," Mai returned. Her forehead creased in a thoughtful frown. "I wonder if that sort of thing is genetic."

"Oh, haha," Zuko grumbled. "You're hilarious."

"And you're avoiding the issue," Mai countered. "So talk before I start to lose interest."

"Okay, fine!" he acquiesced sullenly. "I'm angry!"

"Anger…that's a good start," Mai commended. "Not very surprising, but a good start."

"You want to hear this or not?" he demanded in exasperation.

"Oh, what was I thinking?" Mai retorted with a roll of her eyes. "Just give me a hand signal when I'm allowed to speak, oh mighty Firelord."

"You see?" Zuko exploded, surging upright and hopping from the bed altogether. "That's exactly the reason I'm angry! You're treating this like it's some big joke and my entire life is falling apart here, Mai!"

"So you're angry with me?" Mai surmised calmly.

"And Aang and Katara," he fired vehemently, "and…and mostly myself!"

"Okay…" Mai replied with a nod. "Tell me why."

"I keep going over and over in my head why Aang didn't say anything to me," he lamented, falling into a frenetic pacing and gesticulating wildly as he spoke. "I know I told him to table it and…and maybe it's my fault that he didn't say anything. Maybe…maybe that's what he was trying to do that day and I shut him down!

"Still," Zuko continued, more to himself than to Mai, "it wasn't as if I twisted his arm. I didn't force him to hold his tongue that day. I know Aang has a timid personality about things sometimes, but when he's passionate about something he can be pretty aggressive too! I don't know what angers me more: the fact that he made the decision at all or the impression I get that he was going to make a move without even talking to me first!"

"Stop right there," Mai ordered him, holding up her hand to halt him mid-tirade. "First of all, don't you think it's a little unfair for you to be angry with Aang over the decision? He was doing what he felt he had to do, I guess, just like you're going to do what you feel you have to do. It's no reason to be angry, Zuko. It's a difference of opinion and you guys have had those before."

"Not like this," Zuko mumbled. "Never like this. He was going to go behind my back, Mai! That's a big deal!"

"He was not going to go behind your back," she refuted mildly. "That's not even how Aang operates. I know that and I don't know him even half as well as you're supposed to." Zuko turned his back to her, but not before she caught sight of the shamed flicker in his gaze. "You said yourself that you had the _impression_ Aang was going to act without talking to you first," Mai pressed. "You're doing a lot of assuming right now, Zuko."

"What else am I supposed to do?" he cried mournfully. "If I wait for Aang, I put my people in a vulnerable position and if I move now…when Aang is found…I don't know what's going to happen."

"Because there's going to be another war?" Mai concluded.

"Yes."

"Okay."

Zuko whipped to face her with an incredulous glower. He had braced himself for an explosion of emotion. Though he realized he was dealing with Mai, of all people, it was still _war_! He had imagined she would be shaken up, even a bit frightened. He had not expected a very simple and very calm "okay," and he told her so.

Mai shrugged. "Just because I don't take an interest in the politics doesn't mean I'm ignorant to what's going on, Zuko," she said. "I suspected we were headed that way for some time now."

"Then you knew it before I did," Zuko muttered. "I honestly had no idea that things had gotten to this point. It's not like before. With the first war, the Fire Nation made itself an object of hatred and fear through its oppressive actions. We _deserved _it! But this time… What is our crime, Mai? What have we done wrong?"

"Our nation is prospering," she answered simply. "That's all. There are some people who will always feel that the Fire Nation should pay and pay for the war and, because of that, any success we have is going to be met with bitterness and resentment. They hate us because we're not suffering when they believe we should be."

"So then this is all futile," Zuko concluded grimly. "Nothing I do will ever make a difference at all!"

"I'm not saying it's futile," Mai replied. "I'm saying you have an uphill battle." She slipped from the bed and crossed over to him, encircling his waist from behind in a comforting embrace. "Zuko, it took one hundred years for the Fire Nation to acquire the reputation it did," she reasoned. "Don't you think it makes sense that it will take just as long to change people's opinions of us, especially when it seems in their eyes we haven't lost a single thing?"

Zuko surveyed her with a sullen, sideways stare. "So you think I should give up the colonies too, is that it?"

"I'm not saying that."

He shrugged out of her arms and faced her with an imploring expression. "Then what are you saying, Mai?" he urged. "Tell me what I should do."

"I can't do that," Mai told him. "This is a decision you have to come to on your own, Zuko."

"But…but what if I make the wrong choice?" he lamented. "I don't know what to do."

"Do what your heart tells you," she advised.

"And if I'm wrong?"

"I'll still be here," she said. "Your family will still be here. I just want you to be happy." When he made a face, she amended, "Well, as happy as you can be anyway."

"I don't know what's going to make me happy, Mai," he told her. "I feel like I'm between a rock and a hard place. I'm torn between wanting to do the right thing for my people and wanting to be there for my friend and I'm not sure if I can do both."

"So I was right," Mai deduced knowingly. "You _do_ feel guilty for not going with them to search for Aang." Once again, Zuko dropped his eyes to avoid the accusation, but, predictably, Mai pressed onward. "It's not too late to change your mind and go," she encouraged him.

"Yes, it is," Zuko countered. "First of all, I can't leave the country when we're in the middle of such political turmoil and, even if somehow I could manage it, Katara wouldn't welcome me anyway."

"You know she didn't mean any of that stuff she said to you," Mai replied dismissively. "Katara's a hothead, just like you, Zuko. She'll calm down."

"I don't know…" he mumbled. "It seemed to me that she meant every word."

"Are you worried because you think she meant it or because you think she was right?" Mai inquired summarily.

"I don't know, Mai," Zuko said again. "What do you think? Was she right?"

****

Hours later, Zuko found himself unable to sleep. After spending some time in the nursery watching over his dozing sons, he wandered the dim corridors of the palace, searching for answers in the candlelit stillness and finding only reverberating silence instead. Eventually, his continued internal conflict led him to Sokka's door. Despite the lateness of the hour, Zuko suspected that worry over Aang had kept Sokka up as well. He knocked once before pushing the door open without waiting for Sokka's invite.

Indeed, Sokka was awake and, apparently, he had not heard Zuko's tentative knock at all. He and Momo were cuddled together in the center of his bed as Sokka lovingly scratched behind the injured lemur's ears and crooned sweetly, "Who's a good little rabbit-monkey? Is Momo a good little rabbit-monkey? Yes, you are. Yes, you are."

Zuko cleared his throat. "If I'm interrupting a private moment, I can come back later," he announced wryly.

Sokka scrambled upright, eyes wide with embarrassment. "Zuko!" he cried. "It's not what it looks like! He's missing Aang and I'm just…just comforting him."

"Sure…whatever," Zuko patronized mildly. "Hey, what you do with Momo is your business."

"Katara says a soothing touch aids in the recovery process, okay," Sokka snapped defensively.

"If you say so," Zuko dismissed. "Let's just agree to never speak of it again."

"Deal," Sokka sighed gratefully.

"I need to talk," Zuko informed him right after.

"Yeah, I kind of figured that part out by myself," Sokka said, leaning over to light a lantern alongside his bed. "It took you long enough."

Surprised, Zuko fell into a nearby chair. "You were expecting me?"

Sokka shrugged. "Eh, I figured you'd be feeling like a jerk right about now," he confirmed dryly. "I wanted to be ready with a listening ear."

"Great," Zuko grunted. "So you think I'm being an idiot too?"

"Do _you_ think you're being an idiot?" Sokka countered.

Zuko heaved a miserable sigh. "I think I should have gone with the others to look for Aang."

"Agreed."

"Then, if you knew I was making a stupid decision, why didn't you try and talk me out of it?" Zuko cried in exasperation.

"Nobody talks you out of anything, Zuko," Sokka returned flatly. "Besides, I know you're in a tough position right now."

"It feels like I'm in between a rock and a hard place," Zuko confessed mournfully, echoing the exact words he'd said to Mai earlier that night. "No matter what decision I make, I lose."

"I wouldn't want to be in your shoes," Sokka commiserated.

"That makes two of us," Zuko replied in a glum tone.

"For the record, it hasn't been any easier for Aang, if that's what you were thinking," Sokka interjected softly.

"What would you know about it?"

"I only know what Katara told me," Sokka recounted. "She said that Aang was terrified of losing your friendship over this. She said he felt the same way you do now…like he was wedged in between a rock and a hard place and no matter what decision he made, someone was going to end up hurt."

The parallel made an impact on Zuko and he felt much of his bitterness and anger drain away in that moment, leaving only frustration and confusion in their wake. "I just wish he'd talked to me about it first," Zuko sighed. "I hate that I had to hear about it from Kuei."

"Maybe Aang had every intention of telling you face to face," Sokka considered, "but this whole mess went down before he could."

"The timing does seem rather convenient, doesn't it?" Zuko mused pensively.

"Now you're thinking," Sokka commended him. "Aang's disappearance happened at a very critical time. Obviously, whoever is behind his kidnapping has very far-reaching connections. They had access to the Earth King's seal, they obviously knew that they could send that phony note without arousing suspicion for a few days _and_ that means they probably have spies scattered all through the palace."

Zuko frowned at the suggestion. "Wait…why would you think that?"

"Whoever's behind this didn't just take advantage of the shifting political climate, Zuko," Sokka pointed out. "They had to have some knowledge of the ongoing tension between you and Aang as well, otherwise they never would have been able to exploit it in the first place."

"You're saying that someone in my employ is betraying me?" Zuko surmised, appalled.

"I think it's a real possibility."

"Do you have any suspects?" Zuko followed up quickly.

Sokka shook his head. "It could be anyone…a servant, one of your council, even one of your archers."

"Then I should gather them all together for interrogation immediately," Zuko decided, shifting to his feet.

"No!" Sokka cried before he could pull the service bell cord and wake the entire palace. "Don't do that!"

"Why?" Zuko demanded. "One of them could know where Aang is!"

"It's doubtful," Sokka reasoned mildly. "Whoever our spy is, it's not likely that they know anything about Aang at all. Possibly they were doing little more than handing out confidential information. Considering that, it's better if we don't let them know we're on to them."

"So what do we do in the meantime?" Zuko wondered anxiously. "We can't just sit around and play stupid!"

"Zuko, we have to proceed very, very carefully," Sokka cautioned. "I honestly think this entire thing was set in motion to force your hand, with Aang's kidnapping being the event that broke you entirely. I know you're in a tight spot right now, but the _last_ thing you want to do is send Fire Nation troops into the Earth Kingdom."

"It's not like Kuei has left me with much of a choice," Zuko retorted shortly. "He made it pretty clear that if I didn't take some kind of action, then he would. Even Bumi's on board with him now. He sent me a message just this morning explaining that while he could deal with anarchy and assassination attempts, the marked slowdown in lettuce commerce has forced his hand."

"O…kay," Sokka replied slowly. "I'm not going to attempt to even _touch_ that one."

"Yeah, well he may be a lunatic, but he was my last strong ally in the Earth Kingdom," Zuko said with a rueful sigh. "Now, I'm on my own."

"Don't sweat it," Sokka declared a moment later and with absolute certainty. "They won't make a move. Not without Aang. Not when they know their actions could possibly provoke a war. They might blow a lot of hot air and apply loads of pressure to you, but they won't make a move."

"What if you're wrong?" Zuko demanded.

"I'm not wrong," Sokka replied. "I'd bet my boomerang on it."

"You mean the boomerang you've replaced like four times since I've known you?" Zuko queried sardonically.

"Can we please focus?" Sokka grunted. "The point is…Kuei and Bumi aren't your problem. Those rebellious factions in the Earth Kingdom are. We're operating on borrowed time right now. We need to find Aang before it becomes common knowledge that he's missing because if that happens…" He trailed off into grim silence. "Well, you don't really want to think about that."

"We should leave tonight then," Zuko declared. "We've already lost too much time already."

Sokka leaned over the edge of the bed to retrieve his traveling pack. "I've been ready for hours," he said. "You think Mai will mind watching Momo and Hawky for a while?" He slid a surreptitious glance over at the bird, who watched Momo with a malicious gleam in his beady, black eyes. "Particularly, she needs to watch out for Hawky…I get the distinct impression that he has it in for Momo."

"Really?" Zuko patronized. "I have no idea where you'd get that."

"So do you think she'll keep an eye on them?" Sokka wondered. "Especially Momo…he needs lots of love." Hawky squawked in protest to that.

"Sure, she'll do it. Though, she probably won't cuddle him the way you do," Zuko teased.

Momo and Sokka exchanged a meaningful look. "Somehow, I think Momo will be okay with that," Sokka replied finally. "Get your stuff. I've got a balloon waiting for us outside already."

"Pretty sure I was going to change my mind, huh?" Zuko charged wryly.

"I knew you were already leaning in that direction anyway," Sokka said. "You just needed an extra nudge, that's all."

Ten minutes later, as Zuko was kissing his wife and sons in a final goodbye, the quiet poignancy of the moment was abruptly shattered when Ursa's traveling coach came barreling out of the darkness. Before the vehicle had even come to a complete stop, Ursa was tumbling through the door and running towards Zuko. "Mom!" he cried in surprise. "What are you doing here? I thought you were going to be at Donghai Aiguo for a few days visiting Azula."

"So did I," Ursa panted urgently. "But something terrible has happened, Zuko, and I needed to tell you right away! Komo and I rode all night to get here!"

"What is it?" Zuko demanded with growing alarm.

"It's your sister," Ursa revealed reluctantly. "She's gone. She escaped again."

"What?" Zuko, Mai and Sokka exploded simultaneously.

"And that's not the worst of it," Komo added direly as he came to stand behind his frantic wife. "I received word from a friend living in the colonies just before we left Donghai Aiguo. Things recently took a turn for the worse. He's requesting your aid."

"How bad are we talking about here?" Zuko asked warily.

"It's bad," Komo told him. "The city of Ri Shan is under siege, Zuko. The Earth Kingdom just declared war."


	12. Chapter Eleven

**Chapter Eleven**

"I bet you're hungry," Azula announced in a singsong tone as she entered the confines of Aang's cell.

After setting aside her lantern, the small container of water she carried and the steaming platter of food, Azula contemplated Aang's bent head in the dimness. She actually had the Avatar in her possession, helpless and completely dependent upon her for his survival. Here was the boy, now a man, who had brought her father to his knees, had stripped her of her bending…and he couldn't even lift his own head. The realization filled Azula with heady satisfaction.

As Aang heard her approaching footsteps, he flinched inwardly. If he'd been able, he might have lifted his head to toss her a defiant glare. Unfortunately, he could do little more than hang limply until she scooted over to remove his gag and push back his head and spoon water into his mouth. He tried not to slurp at it gratefully, though it had seemed like days since the last time they had offered him water. While he managed to hold his composure over his raging thirst, however, his stomach betrayed his hunger by rumbling loudly when the delectable scent from the covered platter drifted over to his nostrils. Azula smirked. Aang remained silent.

When he'd had little more than a few spoonfuls of water, Azula re-corked the water skin and slipped it within the folds of her embroidered overcoat. "So…JianJun tells me you've been a very naughty boy in my absence," she remarked thoughtfully.

"Is that his name?" Aang wondered. "Thanks for the heads up. I was starting to feel bad just referring to him as, 'hey you, earthbender!'"

"You're pretty cheeky for someone in your position," Azula told him.

Aang grinned weakly. "I'm a cheeky guy."

"We'll see how long you keep that cheerful disposition of yours," Azula challenged, before her eyes abruptly took on a harsh and unyielding frigidity. "Further escape attempts will not be tolerated, Avatar. I am not a patient woman."

"Really? I couldn't tell."

Azula leaned in closer to whisper against his ear. "Hear me well. You only make things harder for yourself when you test my patience. I may be forced to give you more of the toxin to keep you under control and that would be very bad for you. You see, in larger doses, the shirshu toxin could actually paralyze your lung function. You'd die gasping for your last breath. It's not a pretty end, by any means."

Unwilling to betray even the slightest hint of fear because he was almost positive she was only baiting him, Aang challenged, "And how would you know what it does?"

She leaned back on her heels to favor him with a wicked smile. "Volunteers, of course. I tend to be very thorough about such matters." Aang flinched at the answer. "Come now, don't be that way," she sneered. "They did you a favor. Without them you would have been dead long ago."

"So is that your plan?" Aang demanded. "To kill me?"

"You're very unimaginative. Where would be the fun in that?" Azula purred. "Now your bison, on the other hand…"

Aang's eyes widened at the hanging threat. "Where's Appa?" he growled angrily. "What have you done with him?"

"Relax," Azula laughed with a dismissive sigh. "He's alive…simply more trouble than he's worth. Keeping him fed alone has been a nightmare…ugh…"

"If you hurt him…" Aang began in warning.

"You'll what?" Azula goaded. "Take away my bending? My freedom? Too late, Avatar. You've already done both and I survived."

"Is that why you're doing this?" Aang surmised tiredly. "You want to punish me for what happened before? I've told you…it wasn't an easy decision for me. I never wanted you to feel like you were left with nothing."

"Right," she snorted. "Because you care so deeply. Please, spare me your gentle nobility. I'm not impressed."

"I can't give you back your bending, Azula," he told her. "It doesn't work that way."

"Who said I _wanted_ it back?" she sneered. "You actually did me a favor. You'd be amazed at what the human body can accomplish with the right motivation. I have talents I never even fathomed." Before Aang could obsess over the understandable panic her declaration raised, Azula abruptly changed the subject. "But enough about me," she chirped. "It's been almost four days without food for you and you must be starving."

"It's been four days…" Aang mumbled, more to himself than to her.

Still, Azula answered as if he had addressed her directly. "Hmm…I forget time is nonexistent for you right now," she considered lightly. "You actually have no idea how long you've been down here with me at all, do you?"

"Does it matter?"

"Just an interesting observation," Azula said. His stomach chose that moment to growl loudly. "You may not know how long you've been here, but your stomach certainly does. You should eat."

"Like you care," he muttered.

"But I do," she insisted, reaching over to lift the wooden lid from his dinner platter to reveal a pile of fluffy dumplings on a bed of crisp lettuce. "Doesn't it look divine?" she cajoled. She inhaled the intoxicating aroma. "And it smells even better."

"I'm not eating that," Aang declared flatly.

"You have something against good food?" Azula queried.

"I have something against _poison_," Aang clarified.

"Oh, you silly boy," she laughed, reaching over to pluck a dumpling from the plate and take a bite. She expelled a pure moan of delight as she chewed the food. "You see?" she said after she'd swallowed. "No poison."

"Eat another," Aang bid her suspiciously.

"Alright," she complied, "but that means less for you." Three dumplings later Aang had ample confirmation that they weren't poisoned, but he still couldn't quell his suspicions over her decision to deliver him such an appetizing meal in the first place. He told her as much. Azula reacted with affected affront. "I'm not without a heart," she said. "There's no rule that says I can't treat my prisoner well. The least I can do is serve you a hot meal." She pressed a warm dumpling to Aang's lips. "Now why don't you eat it?"

Aang took a cautious bite of the morsel, only to spit it out in disgust a second later when he realized what it was. "That's meat!" he bit out accusingly.

Azula regarded him with a wide-eyed stare. "Is it?"

He could tell by her tone of voice and gleeful expression that the "oversight" had not been accidental at all. "I don't eat meat," Aang informed her mutinously.

"That's a shame, Avatar, because you see…meat is all we have," she informed him sweetly, despite the lettuce which sat in plain view and proved her a liar. That was evidently the point because, seconds later, she was dropping her polite hostess routine altogether. "You can either eat what I offer you or starve to death. It's your choice."

"I'm not eating it," he said again.

"I know how revered you are for your morality and your convictions," she considered smoothly. "I think it will be rather interesting to see if you can hold to them under such extreme pressure. After all, the world needs you right now. War is looming. This would be an extremely bad time to die. And…all you have to do is eat, keep your strength up and you _may_ be able to save the world and the people you love. Or, you can hold to your vegetarian beliefs and slowly starve to death." She tapped her chin in a pensive moment. "I wonder what you'll do."

"You're cruel," Aang uttered. "This is nothing but a game to you."

Unbelievably, she smiled at that. "Yes, and I'm quite entertained," she replied without even a shred of contrition. "So…are you ready for dumpling number two?"

"I told you, I'm not eating it," Aang reiterated coldly. "Take that plate and your smug self-satisfaction and get out of here, Azula."

Without further argument, Azula released him and retrieved the food, lantern and water before stooping to refasten the dirty bandage across his mouth. Once she had completed her task, she rose to exit, pausing briefly just before she did. "Right now your anger and adrenaline are fueling you," she quipped in a light tone. "You probably feel quite omnipotent at the moment. It's easy to tell me 'no' _at this moment_. But let's see how you feel after a few more days without food."

****

Milking a shirshu could be an arduous and dangerous process, which yielded only marginal results. Long Feng had only witnessed the procedure once and quite by accident. Azula had been quick to divert his attention elsewhere. In fact, there were places within the underground labyrinth that she strictly forbade him to go. Her insistence was both ironic and aggravating. While Long Feng applauded her genius in choosing the long abandoned and forgotten Lake Laogai as her secret headquarters, he was also irritated over the fact she had usurped yet another thing in his life. The indignity of it all was beginning to wear thin with him.

She was doing it again, Long Feng realized. She was systematically stripping him of everything that mattered to him and she wasn't even half trying. It had only been two days and already she had grown men, respected military tacticians eating out of the palm of her hand with the misguided notion that she was a poor, wounded bird they could heal and protect. They actually bought into her crockery that she was helping them. None of them could see at all that _they_ were helping _her_. They could not even fathom how thoroughly she was manipulating them. Poor fools! She would gain mastery over them and the Fire Nation and all by the charming flutter of her long lashes.

But she would _not_ get the mastery over him. Not again.

Just as she had used the shirshu to control the Avatar, when the time was right, he would use the shirshu to control _her_. He didn't want her dead. Suffering was the only appropriate end for her. Once he had bent her completely to his will, everything she had worked to build would be his for the taking. He would swoop in and pluck it up as easily as he would a fire lily in an open field. In the end, he would have the satisfaction of knowing that Azula was fully aware of what he'd done and there was absolutely _nothing_ she could do to change it.

For Long Feng, that would be a long awaited justice and it would begin with an animal's saliva. The fact that it required nearly half a dozen Dai Li agents to subdue said animal just to acquire what amounted to little more than a few ounces failed to dissuade Long Feng. Though he would have to face the shirshu alone, he was more than confident that he was up to the task. There was no glory without sacrifice and hardship after all. The effort would be well worth it in the end. His nemesis would be no more and, better still, he would be sovereign ruler over everything she had.

Sweet revenge indeed.

****

"Tell me again," Zuko entreated his mother tersely. "Start from the beginning."

"Darling, I've already told you!" Ursa replied, her tone equally tense. "The doctor acted as if he'd never seen me before and he insisted that Azula had never even been his patient! He had no idea what I was talking about!"

"He obviously believed what he was telling her," Komo interjected. "Even after I arrived he did not change his story. He wasn't putting on an act, Zuko. The man was genuinely confused."

"Are you sure?" Zuko pressed. "He might have been putting you off. You know how persuasive Azula can be when she puts her mind to it. She could have easily frightened him into cooperating."

"Like I said, I didn't sense any deception in him…or fear," Komo reiterated. "What he was saying to us…he obviously believed it. In fact, seemingly everyone we questioned in connection with Azula's case acted as if they didn't know what we were talking about."

"It was very strange," Ursa murmured. "I actually started to feel as if _I_ was the one who had gotten it all wrong."

The description of the doctor's odd behavior as well as Ursa's statement snapped a thread of familiarity within Sokka. He remembered being in Ba Sing Se before the war ended and the ridiculous time he and his friends had endured while trying to convince its citizens that there was a war outside the city. He remembered Jet and his odd behavior, his insistence that he was something he wasn't…after the Dai Li had brainwashed him. Sokka eyes flared wide as the thought occurred to him. "The Dai Li…" he gasped. "They have to be behind this!"

"It makes sense," Mai considered. "They had an almost abnormal loyalty towards Azula. They even stood behind her when she tried to burn the palace to the ground, remember?"

"But we disbanded the Dai Li," Zuko reminded her. "They are scattered and broken. There are probably only a handful of them left. Besides that, I have kept strict tabs on who does and doesn't visit Azula. No one gets in to see her without my approval first!"

"Apparently someone did and they likely brainwashed the staff at Donghai Aiguo," Sokka commented. "You can't ignore the implications, Zuko. This has the Dai Li written all over it, especially in light of Azula's escape."

Zuko threw back his head and growled in sheer frustration. "How many times do we have to do this?" he lamented before throwing a woebegone look over towards his mother. "I thought you said she was getting better!"

"She was!" Ursa defended. "Our…our relationship was the best it's ever been. I…I thought we were finally beginning to understand each other."

Komo rested a hand on his distraught wife's shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. She stared up at him with wet, anguished eyes. "All that still might be true," he murmured gently.

"And it might have been another one of Azula's lies," Zuko cut in brutally. "After all, that's what she does!" He pivoted abruptly to stalk towards the service cord at the far end of the sitting room and yanked it hard. "I need to put the palace on high alert," he said. "I can't take the chance of what happened last time she got free happening again!"

"Zuko, I don't think she's coming here," Sokka considered. "If she was, we would have seen her by now. I think Azula has bigger things planned. Think about it. Aang's gone and now she is too. That can't be an accident."

"But remember, Azula has no bending," Mai reasoned. "She's good and she's quick, but even she can't take on a fully realized Avatar, especially now."

"You don't need bending to take someone by ambush," Sokka countered.

"All this is a moot point," Zuko interjected, having finished rattling off orders for palace security to two of his most loyal palace guards. "If Azula has taken Aang, which I'll admit is probably exactly what happened, there's not much I can do about it now. I can't exactly go hunting for her. Ri Shan is only the first Fire Nation colony to be invaded. I'm sure the others will follow. I need to get there."

"And what about Aang?" Sokka demanded. "He's the only one that can put an end to all this, Zuko."

"Katara and the others went to find the bounty hunter, right?" Mai interjected. "Once they get to her, finding Aang will only be a matter of time. We should focus our attention on containing the uprising at Ri Shan before it gets any bigger."

"How do you propose to do that?" Sokka wondered.

"I'm sending troops into the Earth Kingdom," Zuko revealed deliberately. "The navy has already set sail."

"You what?" Sokka exploded. "Are you insane? That's the worst thing you could have done right now!"

"Man power is very limited in the Colonies, Sokka," Zuko argued. "Should I just hang back and wait for my people to be slaughtered?"

"Ri Shan has a fortified, defensive wall, right?" Sokka pressed.

"Yes," Zuko confirmed.

"Has it been breached?"

"According to my last report, not yet," Komo spoke up. "But it's only a matter of time."

"But we _have_ time," Sokka stressed. "If we wait just a few more days I'm sure Katara and the others will have found Aang and then we can all decide on a course of action together."

"We may not have a few days," Zuko retorted. "Azula has Earthbenders at her disposal now. It won't take days to bring down the city's walls. If they get close enough, it may take only a matter of hours. As it is, my naval fleet won't arrive in time to prevent Ri Shan from being decimated, but I can stop further destruction to the other colonies."

"Zuko, Aang wouldn't want this," Sokka urged. "You know he wouldn't! If you invade the Earth Kingdom then this really _is_ war. There's no turning back."

"Don't you see, Sokka?" Zuko muttered sadly. "It already is war."

****

"Good to see this place has remained as seedy as ever," Suki remarked dryly as she, Toph, Katara and Iroh entered the tavern June usually frequented. In one corner of the room a fistfight had broken out, despite the morning hours and several men were already passed out across their tables. Suki crinkled her nose in revulsion. "I really don't get the appeal," she muttered under her breath.

"You don't? This is my kind of place!" Toph interjected excitedly. "I think it's awesome!"

Suki flicked her with a sardonic look. "You would, Toph."

"We should split up to look for June," Katara suggested brusquely. "We'll cover more ground that way."

When she had divided off from the group, Toph leaned into Suki and mumbled, "I thought you said she was doing better after your little talk."

"Better, but not happy by a long shot," Suki said with a worried look over in Katara's direction. "We should probably just give her some space for a while."

"That's a good idea," Toph agreed. She turned towards Iroh to get his opinion on the matter, only to find that he was craning his neck rather assiduously for a glimpse of June. Toph smirked. "So Iroh…" the young earthbender drawled, nudging her boyfriend in the side with her elbow. "See your lady anywhere?"

"Now Toph, we've been through this," Iroh replied mildly as he continued to scan the tavern. "She's not my lady. There was never anything between us at all."

"Not for lack of trying though, right?" Toph teased him.

Iroh favored her with a smile. "Maybe once…" he confessed softly, "…but I've long since found something better."

In a rare display of vulnerability, Toph's cheeks warmed with a pink hue over his unapologetic flattery. "You are one smooth talker for an old guy," she commended. She administered a playful punch to his upper arm, which turned into a fleeting caress. "Keep it up," she suggested with a meaningful perusal down the length of his body, "and so will I."

"I hate to interrupt your…um…sexual banter," Suki interjected with a mild shudder, "but remember how we agreed about giving Katara her space? We should probably rethink that. She's clearly on the verge of a meltdown." She nodded over to where Katara was aggressively interrogating the tavern keeper over June's whereabouts. "We'd better get over there before she completely loses it."

"…she's in here all the time!" Katara yelled impatiently as her friends came up from behind. She thumped her fist against the wooden countertop. "How can you not know who I'm talking about?"

"Katara," Suki interrupted carefully. "What's going on?"

"This man is lying," she sneered, grabbing the tavern keeper by his shirt and yanking him forward. "He knows very well who I'm talking about, but he's playing dumb for some reason."

"Yeah…okay," Suki replied, reaching forward to slowly and cautiously uncurl the waterbender's fingers from the thin material of the tavern keeper's shirt. "I get that you're a little upset right now…but I'm thinking manhandling him really isn't the best way to go about convincing him to help us." In answer, Katara uncorked her water skin and drew forth a snaking tendril of liquid, forming it into a snapping whip. "No, not that way either," Suki sighed, attempting to nudge Katara aside and meeting with little success. "Why don't we have a little talk, okay?"

"No!" Katara blustered. "If this guy isn't going to cooperate on his own, I'll be more than happy to provide him with some encouragement!"

"Are you threatening me?" the tavern keeper challenged with a narrowed glare.

"I don't make threats!" Katara flung back. "That was a _promise_!"

"Okay then…" Suki interrupted, forcibly dragging Katara aside. "You definitely need a moment. Come with me."

As Suki ushered a protesting Katara away, the tavern keeper remarked, clearly aggravated, "Your friend is crazy."

"She's not crazy," Toph corrected. "She's looking for her husband and she needs June to find him."

"Oh, so this is a domestic dispute…I get you."

"No, it's not a domestic dispute," Toph retorted. "We're looking for the Avatar, genius! You could say the fate of the free world depends on whether or not we find him so…given those circumstances; I can understand my friend's frustration with you. Because she was right…_you are lying_."

"W-Wait a minute," the man sputtered. "What has this got to do with the Avatar? That waterbender was only asking me if I'd seen the bounty hunter!"

"So you _did_ know who she was talking about," Toph charged slyly. "Now why would you lie about something like that?" She placed her hand flat against the serving counter. "Your heartbeat is going a mile a minute. What has you so nervous?"

"I'm not nervous," he denied.

"You seem nervous," Toph insisted. "And you're lying…_again_."

"I…I've got work to do," the tavern keeper stammered.

"The last thing we want to do is trouble you," Iroh interjected politely, "but you see…you are right." He lowered his tone to a conspiratorial whisper. "Our friend is a little crazy." He nodded over to where Katara was obviously breathing threat and murderous intent for the tavern keeper. "The war was very hard on her. She's sort of a loose cannon," Iroh confided dishonestly. "She could literally snap at any moment. I've seen it before. It's not a pretty sight."

The tavern keeper threw up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Look, I don't want any trouble…"

"Neither do we," Iroh said. "Let's say we clear this whole thing up and have a nice pot of tea? Now doesn't that sound pleasant?"

The tavern keeper favored him with a look that clearly questioned Iroh's sanity. His next words confirmed the look. "Are all of you insane?" he wondered deliberately.

Ignoring that, Iroh prodded gently, "June, the bounty hunter? Do you know where she is?"

"I haven't seen her in nearly a week," the tavern keeper revealed. "She had a run in with some earthbenders a little while ago. They were trying to take that animal of hers and there was a big fight."

"Did you do anything to stop it?" Toph demanded.

"Hey, fights happen in this place all the time and I don't get in the middle," the tavern keeper tossed back defensively. "I try to mind my own business."

"So then what happened?" Iroh asked.

"They loaded her and the animal up and took her," the man informed them. "Afterwards, some big shot earthbender comes in here and gives me a lot of money to say I never saw anything. That was it. He never said a word about the Avatar or why he wanted June and her animal in the first place."

"Can you describe what this earthbender looked like?" Iroh questioned.

"Um…regular looking guy, tall…black robes, green and gold circle insignia across the front…" the tavern keeper recalled. "He was…was very quiet when he moved…like he was gliding across the earth, not actually walking. Come to think of it, they all moved like that."

"All?" Toph queried.

"There were a least a dozen of them," the tavern keeper said. "But the guy I talked to…he seemed like he was in charge of the whole operation."

Suki and a significantly calmer Katara approached on the tail end of his description, but for Katara that was enough. "That sounds like the Dai Li," she remarked in disbelief.

"The Dai Li?" Toph echoed. "But why? Why would the Dai Li want to kidnap June? What could they possibly have to gain by taking her?"

"A better question is…how are we supposed to find Aang without her?" Katara wondered thickly. "What are we supposed to do now?"

"Wait now…are you saying the Avatar is missing?" the tavern keeper demanded, horrified.

"What's it to you?" Toph challenged.

The tavern keeper took a cautious step back still half afraid they had intentions to hurt him. He definitely didn't want the situation to turn into a "shoot the messenger" type of deal. "I'm just saying…" he began defensively, "…if he was, it would be really bad timing that's all."

"And why is that?" Suki demanded shortly.

"Haven't you heard?" When he was met with nothing but blank stares all around, he clarified with an exasperated sigh, "Have you people been living under a rock or something? The Fire Nation invaded Earth Kingdom waters this morning and opened fire. We're at war."


	13. Chapter Twelve

**A/N: This chapter is a little weird, but at the same time, it's supposed to be, lol.**

* * *

**Chapter Twelve**

Aang had been missing for little more than a week when the first rumors of his death began circulating the Earth Kingdom. The speculation only gained momentum as the war escalated without intervention. What many had viewed as nothing more than another rebellion quickly became something infinitely more serious. No longer was the conflict simply a matter between Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom, but now the Earth Kingdom itself had been divided. There was the faction that maintained and upheld the alliance that had been made with the Firelord and there was the faction who believed that alliance was nothing less than treason. The small pockets of civil unrest that had once been scattered about now grew to a widespread area and the violence escalated as enemies of the Fire Nation advanced, seemingly unchecked, across the region.

Meanwhile, in spite of the unstable times, Katara and the others had continued their search for Aang by beginning a new search for June. The goal was simple: find the bounty hunter, find the Avatar. The tavern keeper had provided them with only a miniscule lead. According to his recollection, the caravan of earthbenders who had taken June had been headed in the direction of Ba Sing Se. Consequently, they began their search in that direction as well. Whether or not the city was the intended destination, however, was a topic of intense debate. Suki thought it was a possibility, but Katara and Toph remained skeptical. They had briefly speculated that the Dai Li had taken June to Lake Laogai or perhaps even the crystal catacombs but quickly discarded the idea after some practical discussion of the matter.

"First of all," Toph had said, "they would know those locations would be the first places we'd look. They'd have to be stuck on stupid to go back to Ba Sing Se. It's too obvious."

"But they don't know that we know that they have June," Katara had reasoned.

"But I'm sure they expected us to figure it out eventually," Toph had volleyed back. "Katara, come on. The catacombs are abandoned and we destroyed Lake Laogai ourselves. They won't go back there. Wherever they are, it's most likely with Azula."

When the three small towns they encountered between the tavern and the Earth Kingdom stronghold yielded no results and no one remembered seeing a caravan, Toph's theory gained merit. It appeared that the direction the Dai Li had taken had been merely to throw any pursuers off course. Besides that, no one in any of the towns had noted anything suspicious in their area at all. As far as the group knew, the caravan had gone in a different direction altogether. Furthermore, many people were already being distracted by the horrors of war and crying out for an Avatar that would not come. By the time they reached Ba Sing Se after three weeks of fruitless searching, weary and disheartened, it had become evident that the Fire Nation was already losing the war. They were hardly surprised when they finally reached Ba Sing Se and discovered that Zuko and his troops were already there.

Crossing enemy lines had been a precarious struggle, yet Ba Sing Se proved to be a surprising haven for those who wanted to maintain peace between the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation. Refugees poured into the city. Zuko had already set up a temporary base camp there with the Earth King's permission. His troops were given the free roam of Ba Sing Se's streets, only they were there to serve as protection now and not as oppressive overlords. Despite the uncontested support that surrounded him, Zuko still found himself stressed out and burdened with worry.

He barely ate. He couldn't sleep. The distance that separated him and his family was beginning to wear him down. Zuko almost regretted his staunch refusal to have Mai and Ursa accompany him. Consequently, he spent many hours closeted away with his generals and Sokka in Kuei's war room, plotting out his next battle strategy and feeling as if he were losing ground every day.

In the weeks since Aang had disappeared two additional colonies had fallen. As a result, Zuko concentrated his efforts on protecting the remaining colonies while his naval forces kept the Earth Kingdom factions that had broken off from the main army from entering Fire Nation waters. Unfortunately for Zuko, the Earth Kingdom army was large and strong and highly motivated. They pushed back his troops with fierce aggression, without fear and without mercy. He was uncertain how long his beleaguered and overwhelmed forces would be able to keep them at bay, even with their Earth Kingdom allies on their side.

It was amid those unhappy circumstances that Zuko was reunited with his beloved uncle after a nearly three month separation. Zuko was listening intently to the latest plans of attack when he spotted Iroh hovering at the entrance of the war room and the moment he did everything else ceased to matter. With a small, yelping cry, he quickly closed the distance between them and embraced his Iroh in a fiercely tight hug. He half expected Iroh to reject him in disappointment and anger over the mess he'd made and, when Iroh didn't do that, but instead returned Zuko's embrace with equal fierceness, Zuko had to stifle his reactive sob. He hadn't realized until that precise moment how much he had craved and needed his uncle's reassuring presence.

He was so grateful and relieved that it took him some time to realize that something was wrong. His uncle was most overjoyed to see him, but the reserve that hung about Iroh that was impossible to hide. Zuko knew the reason for it immediately. "You didn't find Aang, did you?" he asked his uncle mournfully as they broke their embrace.

"No," Katara answered as she, Suki and Toph filled the entranceway beyond. "We didn't."

"Suki, you're back!" Sokka cried gladly, by-passing his sister completely when he caught sight of his wife. Katara was hardly offended as Sokka rushed past her to swing Suki into his arms, however. She had eyes for Zuko only and made a veritable beeline straight towards him. Sokka barely had time to brush her shoulder in greeting or murmur any sort of comfort before she was stalking past him.

"You might want to dismiss your generals," Katara warned Zuko flatly. "I don't think you want anyone to hear what I'm about to say to you."

"Katara, before you lose your temper, you should know that this is not Zuko's fault," Sokka prefaced. "You don't know the whole stor—,"

His sister pinned him with a quelling glare. "Sokka, this is between Zuko and me!" she snapped. "Stay out of it!"

Zuko held up his hand before the argument could escalate further. "It's okay," he declared after a tense moment. "Katara's right. She and I need to talk."

"We'll be right outside if she tries to hurt you," Sokka muttered to Zuko under his breath as they exited. "Stick with her left side…it's a weak point."

"I'll keep that in mind," Zuko muttered back.

Once Katara and Zuko were alone, the room reverberating with ominous silence, Katara wasted no time getting to the heart of the matter. "How could you be so stupid?" she spat angrily. "In less than a month you have destroyed everything Aang has been working for these last six years!"

"Katara, I know what this must look like to you," Zuko rushed out, "But if you let me ex—,"

"Save it! I don't want to hear it!" she bit out fiercely. "It's not enough that Aang is missing! It's not enough that the one person who could possibly find him is missing too! But if he comes back…" she closed her eyes briefly to swallow past the lump of anguish in her throat, "…_when_ he comes back…is this what will be waiting for him, Zuko? Another war? What is wrong with you?"

Masking his guilt and uncertainty behind a wall of anger, Zuko fired back, "Was I just supposed to stand aside while the colonies were attacked? Tell me, Katara! What should I have done?"

"You should have listened to Aang!" Katara retorted sharply. "Why didn't you listen to him? No, but you couldn't do that, could you? It's always the same with you, Zuko! You do what you want and he cleans up the mess!"

"That is not true."

And it wasn't. Katara knew it. She knew she wasn't being fair. She _knew_ she was wrongfully blaming him. Still, the hateful words spewed forth from her mouth like a geyser. She couldn't stop the malicious stream and the reason was a simple one. She was hurting and she needed a target and Zuko served the purpose of punching bag quite nicely. "Because of you we have no idea where Aang is now or if he's even okay," she uttered in a vibrating whisper. "I blame you, Zuko! I blame you for all of this!"

"Well, you're not alone, because I blame myself!" he flung back, stunning them both into silence with his emotional outburst. He regarded her in stony silence before finally declaring in a gruff tone, "I have no idea how to fix this mess. I can only do what I think is right and I _know_ Aang would understand that. You need to realize that I never wanted this to happen, Katara."

"But it did," she mumbled. "And now I may never see Aang again…"

"Don't say that," Zuko entreated her softly. "We'll find him."

"How?" she spat in challenge. "I already told you…June _is_ missing. It seems she was kidnapped by Dai Li agents, of all people!" Katara trilled a hysterical little laugh. "What are the odds that the Avatar and the only person who can find him go missing at the exact same time?"

Zuko jerked to attention. "Dai Li? Are you sure?"

Instantly alerted to his suspicious tone, Katara reacted with suspicion of her own. "Yes. Why?"

Most reluctant to reveal to her the details of Azula's latest escape, Zuko closed his eyes and pressed the bridge of his nose between his forefinger and thumb, reflecting on how the situation could possibly get any worse. "Katara, something else has happened…" he began carefully. "We wanted to wait until you guys returned to tell you in person because it's not good…"

"Now what?" Katara groaned in dismay.

"It's Azula," Zuko revealed in a shaky breath. "My mother went to visit her in Donghai Aiguo and she wasn't there."

"What?"

"We have reason to believe that the Dai Li aided her escape," Zuko pressed on. "Almost her entire care staff had been manipulated into believing she wasn't even a patient. Sokka said they'd been brainwashed. Azula didn't have to escape really. She just walked out."

"Oh no…" Katara whispered as the implication hit her full force. "So what you're telling me is…Azula has Aang, doesn't she?"

"It's very likely," Zuko interjected.

Katara swallowed back the waves of panic the revelation caused her. "Where is she, Zuko?" she demanded stridently.

"I don't know," Zuko answered. "I put the palace on the highest alert, in case she goes there, but my gut tells me that she's somewhere here in the Earth Kingdom. I just have a feeling she's up to her neck in this."

Katara began to pace the floor in frenetic circles, her thoughts swirling through her head at an almost dizzying rate. "Now, it makes so much sense," she muttered to herself. "That's why June was taken. Azula must have known we'd go to her to find Aang. She anticipated our move before we could even make it. Oh no…" she whispered again. "This isn't something she just threw together. She must have been planning this for months…maybe years…"

"It has been very coordinated," Zuko acknowledged in a wooden tone.

"Coordinated?" Katara choked. "Zuko, this is the most awful thing that could have happened. Azula has Aang and she _hates_ him … I wouldn't put it past her to…"

"She won't kill him," Zuko declared firmly, correctly determining Katara's grim line of reason. "That's not her style."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Katara snarled.

"I just wanted to reassure you," Zuko replied lamely.

"You mean that my husband hasn't yet been killed, but he is most likely being tortured for your sister's sick amusement?" Katara surmised in dripping sarcasm. "You're right, Zuko! That's such a comfort!"

"I'm sorry, Katara."

"Stop apologizing to me!" she yelled. "It doesn't change anything!"

"Katara, I know you're scared," Zuko replied with remarkable patience, "but if you just calm down, I know we can figure out a reas—,"

He never finished his calm reply because, before the words had even completely left his mouth, Katara was slapping him across the face with a deft snap of her waterwhip. The resulting crack echoed through the room, leaving them both to regard each other in stunned silence. However, Zuko had no time to react to the blow. Katara was already crumbling before he could utter a word. She suddenly sank to her knees with a mournful cry, the worry and agony she had been holding inside for weeks now exploding from her in a series of wracking sobs. She pressed a fist to her mouth in an effort to stifle them, but they continued to bubble from her lips compulsively.

Moments later, she felt Zuko's hand on her shoulder and she could barely look at him as he knelt down alongside her. She felt broken and ashamed and incredibly lost. "I'm sorry, Zuko," she wept, wrapping her arms about her middle as if in physical agony as well as emotional. "I'm sorry I yelled at you. I'm sorry I hit you. I've been awful and I know it." She clutched at his hand, turning her face into his shoulder. "I also know it's not your fault."

"You're scared," he said, his forgiveness, while unspoken, obvious. "I'm scared too."

"At first, I really thought it would be okay," she whispered, her words strangled with tears. "I never let myself think anything less than positive thoughts. I always knew we'd find him. But it's been nearly a month and…and now I don't know anymore…"

"I miss him too, Katara," Zuko confessed hoarsely. "You're not the only one who feels lost right now. But I'm not Aang and I feel like you're punishing me because I'm not."

"I know that," she acknowledged thickly. "Maybe it's true. Maybe I am. I just keep thinking…what if I don't see him again?"

He wrapped her in a tentative embrace as she dissolved into fresh tears. "You'll see him again, Katara," Zuko promised. "We both will."

****

Time did not exist in a box.

Aang had been made well aware of this distressing fact. He couldn't be certain whether it had been hours or days or a matter of weeks. He existed in a void of darkness with only Azula's sinister whispers and his own befuddled senses to keep him company. Aang counted the moments between gulps of water and the intermittent times when they would free him from his confines to stretch his useless muscles before confining him again. He absolutely refused to eat, a fact that both aggravated and amused Azula. Some days she would shove meat beneath his nose until the smell alone made him sick to his stomach and still others she would taunt him with rotten vegetables. She gave him a choice, but it was really no choice at all.

JianJun…the earthbender…the one who usually carried out Azula's orders…sometimes he came with a bit of lettuce or a fresh cabbage. Something small and insignificant and Aang would know that kindness had not dissipated completely from the world. But then he would see the earthbender in his dreams, hear him whispering unintelligible things and Aang would wonder if those instances had really happened at all.

The surrounding world felt surreal, fuzzy and far off, almost like a dream. Sometimes Aang was certain that he was dreaming. Time faded. He saw the apparitions of those long dead, had deep, involved conversations with people who knew had gone to exist in another lifetime.

Gyatso was there, smiling at him with abounding love…his mentor, the closest thing he'd ever had to a father and Aang said to him words that had been left unspoken. _You were an attachment for me. I loved you._ The dead airbender's presence was as much a comfort as a curse because at times he felt amazingly real. And when he faded away, as he always did fade away, for Aang it was like finding his skeletal remains in that forgotten nook of the Southern Air Temple all over again.

Gradually, slowly and deliberately the line between reality and fantasy blurred for Aang. As had become his custom, Aang was drifting along in the endless inertia of his existence when someone tugged aside his gag. The feel of cool ice sliding along his cracked lower lip compelled Aang to open his eyes despite the oppressive heaviness of his lids. Katara's smiling face filled his line of sight. Aang managed a weak smile in return. "What are you doing here?" he whispered weakly.

Katara reached out to cup his jaw tenderly. "You called me," she whispered back.

"I don't know if I'm ever going to see you again…" he whispered mournfully, "…not in this life anyway."

She frowned at him. "Since when do you talk this way, Aang?" Katara demanded. "You're always optimistic. You've always had hope. You _are_ hope."

"No, you are hope," Aang protested, his flow of words feeble and faint. "You're my hope, Katara. I always meant to tell you that."

"Don't talk in the past tense," she replied firmly. "This isn't goodbye."

"I don't know if I'm strong enough…" Aang mumbled.

She leaned her forehead into his, nuzzling him softly. "_I do_. You're always strong enough, Aang."

****

Katara lay in an unfamiliar bed, beneath unfamiliar sheets, surrounded by Aang's familiar presence. Her senses seemed to come alive with him and she felt him as strongly as she would have if he had been lying right next to her. In the darkness she could almost detect his breathing, could feel the warm rise and fall of his chest beneath her cheek… She could feel the meandering sift of his fingertips through her hair. She could feel his incredible love for her and it was almost enough to fill the physical ache of not having him there…

"Am I going to see you again?" she asked the empty bedchamber.

She shifted onto her side, carefully tucking her hands beneath her cheeks to contemplate the darkness beyond. Seconds later, she repressed a shudder of contentment and sorrow, when she felt his arms go around her. "I'm not sure how to answer that question," Aang replied. "I don't know where I am."

"That's not what I asked."

"I'm trying," he whispered, "but it's heavy and black and cold here. I can't find my way."

"You'll find your way," she told him, her words unwavering. "I'm waiting for you. Don't you know that?"

"Yes, and I'm trying, Katara…I really am."

"Only a few weeks ago, things were so normal," Katara remarked aloud. "How can it change so quickly? We were supposed to be back at the Southern Air Temple by now."

She could almost feel his answering smile. "That's how it's always been for us. No plan ever did run smoothly, did it? Have we ever had a normal life?" he wondered.

"Almost normal," she considered wryly. "You know…I even started to think about where we should settle permanently when we raise our family."

Aang groaned into her hair. "Nomads don't settle, Katara," he argued.

Katara laughed at the mock reluctance in his voice. "Yeah…but you know you want to, Aang," she insisted. "Don't deny it."

"Maybe I'm a little curious," he conceded and there was a smile in his voice when he said it. "It's good that you're making plans though. It means you believe we'll be together again. I know that if you believe it, then so do I."

"Now you're talking," Katara praised. "So let's focus on being proactive, Aang. When Azula comes for you again, try to look beyond your cell…try to find something familiar…"

"Sometimes, I get the feeling I should know this place…" he confessed pensively.

"That's a start," Katara replied. "Talk to Azula…see if you can get her to reveal something to you."

"She's careful," Aang considered. "But her mother is a sore spot. Mentioning Ursa makes her emotional. It's her weakness, I think."

"Then keep pressing that," Katara urged. "We know that when Azula is emotional, she gets careless. We need her to be careless. You have to stay focused, Aang."

"I'll try," he promised.

"No. You will," she insisted firmly. "For me."

"Yes," he agreed. "For you."

****

"I was remembering that last conversation we had…" Aang whispered as Katara gently wiped smudges of dirt from his cheeks and forehead. "That night…before I left. I watched you for a while when you were sleeping."

"Did you?"

"You were beautiful," he murmured. "You're always beautiful, Katara. I remember thinking I couldn't possibly be happier or sadder than I was at that moment."

She paused in her ministrations to favor him with a tender smile. "This separation is hard for you," she surmised empathetically, "…for us both."

"Yes…"

"So then you have to think about something positive…something good," she suggested.

"Like what?"

"Like…our wedding," she ventured with a smile, "…or the day we met or all the fun we had when we were learning to waterbend together or that day I beat you penguin sledding—,"

"—You never beat me penguin sledding," Aang interrupted hotly.

Katara just smiled and pressed on as if he'd made no protest at all. "There's the first time we made love…"

"And the second time we made love," Aang reminisced dreamily, "…and the third and the fourth and the fifth…"

His wife swallowed back a laugh. "…trying for a baby," she finished in a coy whisper. Aang's breath escaped him in a soft, hitching gasp and Katara carefully lifted her gaze to his. "I still want that."

"Oh…so you're holding me to that, huh?" he teased.

"Yes, I am," she laughed vehemently.

"That's okay. I don't mind it. I want that too." Abruptly, however, the laughter faded from his features and he was regarding her with despondent eyes once again. "I'm so glad you didn't come with me after all. I'm glad you're not here. My only regret is that I didn't wake you to tell you goodbye. I wish I had done that."

"Me too."

"Yeah…it's definitely good you're not here," he repeated, the words more convicted than the last.

Katara tossed a glance around her, finding only surrounding darkness. "Where is here, Aang?" she urged him.

He blinked, trying hard to remain focused. "Wherever I am."

"Tell me so I can find you," she pressed.

"I don't know…" he answered wearily. "But Azula is here and she's not and sometimes I think I hear water, but I can't bend it. It's confusing." Aang sighed in disappointment. "I'm sorry I can't tell you more than that."

"It's okay." After a pregnant pause of silence, Katara resumed cleaning his face. "Just so you know…I'm not glad."

"Not glad about what?" he queried.

"I should have gone with you," she stated, her words brusque with unshed tears. "It would be different if I'd gone. This would be different."

"Azula would have used you," Aang insisted. "_Hurt_ you and that would have hurt me. It's better this way."

"I need to find you," she whispered.

"You will," he reassured her. "We'll find each other. Haven't we always?" Aang turned his face into the warmth of Katara's palm and placed nibbling kisses against her fingertips. "I miss you," he murmured, his words garbled with emotion. "You were right. Being separated from you this way is hard."

"I miss you too," she whispered in return. "When I close my eyes, I can almost feel your arms around me." She pressed a lingering kiss to his lips and he could taste the salt of her tears. "I'm going to come for you," she vowed fiercely.

"I know you will," he told her.

Katara leaned in for another kiss and for a long while Aang forgot to breathe. It was sweet pain. "I love you, Aang," she whispered when they parted.

"I love you too."

"Aww…how nauseatingly sweet!"

The icy words had an equally icy effect on Aang, dousing him back to reality with alarming and regretful alacrity. Katara's image wobbled before him before vanishing entirely, leaving only Azula and her mocking smirk. Aang cringed internally to think that all he had imagined with Katara moments before had been while Azula was right there, holding his face and witnessing his every vulnerability. The triumphant look on her face told Aang that was exactly what she had done too.

"Hallucinating already, are you?" Azula mocked. "If you miss your waterbender that much, I'd be more than happy to bring her here to keep you company."

"Don't you touch her," Aang snarled.

"It's a possibility," she threatened airily, "if you don't play nice."

"What is wrong with you?" Aang uttered in quiet disgust. "I thought you were changing. I thought having your mother back in your life was making a difference."

"Don't you dare mention my mother!" Azula hissed between clenched teeth. "You don't know a thing about the relationship I have with her!"

"I know you're breaking her heart. What would she say if she could see you now?" Aang wondered aloud. "I think she would be disappointed in you, Azula, because she expected better."

"Clearly, you don't know anything! My mother loves me!" Azula spat. "She's forgiven me for much worse. She'll forgive me for this as well. You'll see."

"Are you sure about that?" Aang goaded.

Azula regarded him with narrowed eyes. "I had considered being kind and offering you a little bread to eat," she told him. "After weeks with little to nothing in your belly, I thought it would be a kindness. Now…I've changed my mind!" She brutally tied his gag back into place and rose to her feet. "Maybe next time you'll make the effort _not_ to provoke me, Avatar." She retrieved her lantern before turning to rake him with a sneering once over. "Sweet dreams."

****

Katara awoke in bed abruptly, her heart fluttering with nameless anticipation. She fully expected to roll over and find Aang beside her, rendering the last three, horrific weeks nothing more than an extended nightmare. She relished the idea of cuddling against his warmth, perhaps even kissing him, maybe even more than that… But when she shifted around to do so, a trembling smile of relief at the ready, she discovered he was not there. Her smile gradually faded away. Her heartbeat slowed to anguished thumps, made sluggish by the grieved disappointment flooding her veins.

Filled with a renewed sense of emptiness, Katara settled back into the pillows and waited for exhaustion to overtake her once more.


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**Chapter Thirteen**

"Do you ever listen to me?" Zuko cried in exasperation when his wife and mother strode into the war room.

"No, Zuko," Mai answered dryly. "Actually, I don't."

The meeting literally ground to a halt upon their entrance. Despite the interruption, Zuko couldn't say he was entirely surprised or disappointed to see them. Still, the realization that every warning he'd issued before leaving home had basically gone in one ear and out the other grated terribly. While he wanted them there and found their presence comforting, Zuko had also wanted them to be safe. The decision, unfortunately, was clearly out of his hands.

"I'm not happy about this," he informed Mai as she filled the empty seat beside him. "Where are the boys?"

She slid him a sideways glance. "You're not happy? There's a shocker," she replied. "Don't worry about the boys. They're here with their nurse and they're fine."

"They should be home," Zuko emphasized. "_You_ should be home."

His imperious declaration earned him a dispassionate eye roll from his wife. "Zuko, you know very well how I feel about doing things I _should_ do," Mai replied flatly, incurring his impatient and exasperated groan. "Besides, you owe me. I've been up to my elbows in bird poo since you left. Let's not even get into the lemur droppings…"

The ensuing laughter around the table immediately died down to a fit of coughing with a single look of displeasure from Zuko. "Mai, first of all, that's revolting," Zuko balked with a shudder. "And second of all, this isn't the time to discuss it. We're kind of in the middle of something…" He nodded meaningfully towards his general, who stood in the center of the room waiting for Zuko's go ahead to continue with his briefing.

"I'm aware of that," she replied, serenely clasping her hands together. "Why do you think I'm here? I'm a member of your royal guard, am I not?"

"Yes, but—,"

"Then I should be here," Mai decided, interrupting his protest. She flicked a glance over at the general. "You may proceed." Obviously reluctant to be caught in the middle of a domestic dispute between his hot tempered Firelord and stubborn princess, the general threw a desperate glance over Zuko, uncertain as to how he should proceed.

When it became apparent that Mai was not going to leave and, if he attempted to force her, he would likely face his mother's wrath, Zuko heaved a frustrated sigh of defeat. "Yes, proceed, General Yang."

"As I was saying," General Yang resumed, "our intelligence officers have confirmed that Princess Azula has allied herself with the rebel Earth Kingdom army."

"You're absolutely certain she hasn't been taken prisoner or isn't being manipulated in some way?" Ursa asked a little frantically.

"No, my lady," Yang answered reluctantly. "The princess is definitely there of her own volition."

"This puts us in a rather precarious position, Firelord Zuko," another of the generals spoke out. "Princess Azula is privy to very sensitive information. If it were to fall into the wrong hands, our national security could be compromised."

"I think we can count on the fact that it already _has _fallen into the wrong hands," Zuko concluded. "Now we need to decide what we're going to do about it."

"She's likely to know where the weak spots are in our naval blockade," General Yang said. "We should tighten up those areas. Should this become a naval battle, we should be prepared to protect our borders. Although, it would be extremely ideal if we could keep as much of this conflict contained on Earth Kingdom soil as we can."

"So you're saying it's perfectly alright for the Earth Kingdom to be ravaged by war if it's in the interest of protecting Fire Nation borders?" Kuei demanded with a hint of aggravation. The Council of Five grumbled their agreement with his outburst which caused a small fervor of disagreement to erupt around the table. Before long, Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation generals were loudly bickering amongst themselves.

"We don't mean to imply that the Earth Kingdom is expendable, by any means," Zuko interjected over the rising voices. "Silence!" Only when he was certain he had gained their undivided attention did he begin speaking again. "The fact is, we are heavily outnumbered, even with the Kyoshi and Water Tribe warriors fighting for our cause. Yes, we are the more skilled group, but they outman us 10 to 1."

With those overwhelmingly grim odds put before him, Kuei fell silent. General Yang took the silence as his opportunity to regain the floor. "This has become more than a mere fight for the colonies, King Kuei," he said. "With the princess involved we have every reason to expect this army will attempt to conquer everything in its path, Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom alike. Without the Avatar, our troops are the best line of defense against the rebels. If we fall, then what is to stop them from accomplishing their goal?"

Kuei reluctantly acknowledged the truth to Yang's words. "So then what do you suggest?"

"We need to keep the conflict contained here just as General Yang suggested," Zuko reiterated. "The rebel army is massive, but woefully uncoordinated and mostly made up of disgruntled Earth Kingdom citizens with no formal military training. I believe if we apply enough pressure, it may be enough to dissuade them from the cause. I don't think these people want senseless bloodshed anymore than we do."

"Yes, but Azula's involved in this too, Zuko," Sokka reminded him, "and Aang is missing. Under different circumstances, these people may have been inclined to give up the fight. But now? Not only do they have inside information on the military but they also have the Avatar, thanks to Azula. We can't simply expect that our military prowess will intimidate them into eventual retreat. When we make our strikes, we need to be quick and decisive."

"So then it comes right back around to Azula," Katara said. "She has Aang and because she does, it's likely the rebel forces think they're unstoppable. And honestly, that's true. As long as Azula has Aang, she holds all the cards."

"We've already put together a small, elite team for the express purpose of reacquiring the princess," Yang revealed.

"I want to be a part of that team," Mai volunteered without a single beat.

"Me too," Suki added.

As Zuko nodded his agreement to that, Ursa interjected softly, "I realize my daughter needs to be stopped and I agree, but…I don't want her to be harmed. Promise me she'll be taken as peacefully as possible."

"Mother, please…" Zuko groaned.

"She has a point, Zuko," Katara defended. "I don't want Azula harmed either. She's the only one who can lead us to Aang. If she's dead then she's of no use to us."

"Of course, retrieving the Avatar is a top priority," General Yang assured Katara.

"And Azula?" Ursa burst out.

Zuko emitted a low groan. He wasn't immune to the edge of desperation in her tone. However, he could not allow himself to be swayed by it. "Mom, this is different…" he replied with heavy reluctance. "I think you know this time is different."

"What do you mean 'different'?" Ursa asked directly. "What are you saying, Zuko?"

"My lady," General Yang interjected respectfully. "I'm sure you're aware that the princess has committed crimes against the Fire Nation by allying herself with the rebel army. She's guilty of treason." Though he did not say it, Ursa…everyone could clearly discern the direction of his argument. Treason was punishable by death.

"But…but she's unwell, Zuko…" Ursa protested thickly.

"It cannot be avoided, Mother," Zuko stated implacably, though it broke his heart to shatter her. "I made allowances for her the first time. She came after me and her motives were obviously personal and the result of unbalanced thinking. This latest stunt is calculated and not directed at me only but at our nation as a whole. She can't be allowed to get away with it this time. Azula is now an enemy of the Fire Nation. She has committed treasonous crimes against her Firelord and her country. You know the penalty for that." He paused to swallow before declaring with grim resolve, "Execution."

****

_Who can you really trust?_

The question was like an insidious maggot wriggling in his brain. He heard it during his waking hours and in his dreams. The words taunted him, haunted him…because he honestly didn't know anymore. Nothing felt real. Nothing felt right. It was becoming increasingly difficult not to lend credence to the question and not because he had lost trust in others. He could no longer trust himself. And if he couldn't trust himself then the question was a valid one. His own mind was beginning to betray him. Sometimes he couldn't even recall how he'd come to be in the hole, how long he'd been there or even _why_ he was there…

Darkness seemed to saturate his spirit and moments blended with no distinct events to make them stand out. He couldn't even judge time by Azula's presence. She came and went as if merely a dream and most of the time Aang couldn't be sure she'd been there at all. His only company was his increasingly muddled thoughts. And as the box that confined him seemed to grow smaller and darker, that question echoing in his mind sounded louder and louder and louder. He was starting to feel as if he were going a little crazy.

Lack of light, lack of sleep and lack of stimuli was slowly beginning to chip away at Aang's resilient nature. He had gradually begun to make fewer and fewer escape attempts, not because he'd given up but because his muscles had grown so weak from disuse that he could barely move them even when the toxin began to wear off. His limbs had grown heavy and lax and even when he had sensation, they rarely responded to his will. Sometimes he would still make a feeble attempt to rattle his captors, if for no other reason than to hear them make reference to it. "Now, we don't want another problem like yesterday…" they would tell him and, at least, Aang would have some reference to how much time had passed.

Not that knowing the time did him much good when he could barely discern what was real and what wasn't. Half the time he found himself talking to people who weren't even there. Talking to apparitions wasn't even the least of his worries. He sometimes even forgot he was in the box. There were instances when he could swear he was back home in the Southern Air Temple, bouncing about the courtyard on his air scooter, the crisp wind biting his cheeks. He could hear Gyatso…_see_ and _touch_ him and, for a brief time, he remembered what it felt like to be carefree and nurtured and completely safe. He remembered what it was like when he was just Aang.

But those moments would never last. The scenes would morph and darken and then he'd find himself on the run, hunted but happy, loaded down with responsibility but unafraid to face it…because they were there. Katara, Sokka and Toph. His friends, his family. They were with him and he didn't feel so alone. And later, even Zuko was there, his long time enemy, now mentor and brother. The memories flashed and faded, blended and blurred in his consciousness, becoming less and less tangible with the more days he lost.

He saw himself falling at Ba Sing Se and then rising again just a few hundred miles outside of it. There was the exhilarating feel of victory and yet the haunting recollection of defeat and Aang could never be certain which had come first. Yet other times, he felt his unrequited love for Katara like an acute ache. So much unabashed longing…and he would wonder if she would ever love him the way he loved her. But then new scenes would emerge in the foggy recesses of his brain and he would see her twisted beneath him, around him and there'd be very little doubt that he had her love. He had all of her.

Still, the more time that passed, the less certain he was that any of it was real. Was he dreaming? It seemed so. Was Zuko his friend now? Was Katara his lover, his wife? Did he really defeat Ozai and end the war? Had he even left Ba Sing Se or was he still left comatose as a result of Azula's lightning strike? He had flashes of the past, vague recollections… Memories, he supposed, but to Aang they seemed more like dreams. The one thing he knew for certain was the box and that, it appeared, wasn't going change.

_Who can you really trust?_ It was a good question. Certainly not himself, Aang reasoned…not these days.

"Time to eat!"

Aang cringed inwardly when he heard Azula's voice, his breath suspended as she approached him. Today he could remember that he hated her, though he was hazy on the reasons why beyond the fact that she kept him caged like an animal. He had done something to her. She had told him, bitterly thrown it in his face more than once, but sometimes the reason would be difficult to remember…and then it would come to him. Her bending. He had taken it away from her and in return, she'd taken away his.

Perhaps then her hatred of him was justified; perhaps she was right to lock him away… But it didn't feel like justice to Aang. He knew that what he had done to her and what she was doing to him now were two completely different things, even if the details of what had happened proved elusive.

Kneeling down before him, Azula propped up his head and pulled down his gag. "Hungry?" she queried with a self-satisfied smile. "I brought you a special treat today."

"…don't want…want out…" Aang told her.

"Are you wanting to leave me already?" she replied with a mocking pout. "That hurts me, Avatar. I thought we were becoming friends."

"Stop this, Azula…"

"Stop what?" she asked innocently. "Making conversation? Must you be all business, all the time? I thought you were supposed to be fun-loving and carefree."

"…you're mocking me…" he grunted.

"No, I would never do that," Azula replied with a smirk. "And to express my sincerity in that regard I brought you something special. You could use it too. You're looking quite emaciated these days, Avatar." She lowered her voice to a stage whisper. "It's not a good look for you."

"Days…how long…?"

"Oh, do you want to know how long you've been here?" Azula discerned. His eyes flashed with desperation as she tapped her chin in feigned contemplation. "It's hard to tell," she said. "Maybe it's been a week or a month…or perhaps it's even been as long as a year. You never know."

"Hasn't been that long…" Aang denied.

"Are you sure?" Azula taunted. "Do you think your pretty waterbender would wait for you that long? There are already rumors circulating that you're dead. People are expecting the new Avatar to be born into the water cycle any day now."

"Stop lying…" he ground out.

She evaded his charge altogether by pressing an apple slice to his mouth. Though the fruit was fresh and felt cool and sweet against his cracked lips, Aang kept them stubbornly compressed. "Eat," she ordered brusquely. "It's good and you need it. I don't want you dying…not just yet anyway." She pushed the fruit between his lips only to have him spit it out a second later. "You're trying my patience, Avatar."

"If you're going to kill me…get it over with…"

Azula arched her eyebrows derisively. "Now is that any way for the world's last hope to talk?" she mocked. "I thought you'd have more of a will to live!"

"Tired of your games…" he mumbled.

"Get used to them," she whispered in sneer. "I'm only getting started." His eyes glittered in the lantern lit dimness. "You despise me, don't you? Good! Now you know just a _tenth_ of what I've felt these last years!"

"I don't hate you…" Aang muttered. "I hate what you're doing…"

"Always so noble and good. Don't you ever take a holiday?"

"I mean it," Aang insisted.

Her smile widened knowingly. "Now who's the liar?"

"I'm going to get free," Aang declared. "This is going to end badly for you, Azula."

"Badly for me or badly for _you_?" Azula countered smoothly. "As far as you escaping…you haven't yet. I'm not worried. Besides, it's not the right time."

"Not the right time for what?" he demanded impatiently.

She leaned in so close that he could feel the warm condensation her breath created when she whispered, "When it comes…you'll know it." And then she sat back, her expression thoughtful and amused. "In the meantime, you should be less concerned with _my_ plans and more focused on what _you're_ going to do when you get out of here. There _is_ a war going on, after all and no Avatar to be found." She shook her head in mock compassion. "Such a shame."

"The war's over…" Aang scoffed. "I may be confused but…I'm not _that_ confused… Try again, Azula."

"Oh, I forget…you're not exactly kept in the know down here, are you?" Azula patronized. "Let me clarify. The war where you humiliated and crushed my father…that one is over and done. The war my dear sweet brother just declared against the Earth Kingdom, however…well, that one's just begun."

"I don't believe you…" Aang replied, though a small flare of alarm did bloom in his heart.

"You don't believe Zuzu would instigate something like that or you don't believe there's a war at all?" Azula queried.

"Both. You're trying to trick me."

"Am I?" she challenged. "You don't think Zuko finds his precious colonies reason enough to go to war over? The climate was right and you were gone. In hindsight, it was actually a brilliant military move. I never would have expected such from Zuko. I didn't think he had the brains."

"Zuko would never…never do that," Aang told her. "Your lies don't work on me, Azula."

"What possible motive would I have to lie to you?" she asked slyly. "What would I have to gain by telling you this? I already have you locked in a dark cell, lapping water from a spoon! It doesn't get any better than this."

"…you want to hurt me…"

"You're right," she conceded. "I do. But this latest development…it was a gift. As we speak, there are Fire Nation troops occupying the streets of Ba Sing Se."

"I don't believe that."

"Of course, you don't," she replied with a sardonic smile. "But you'll believe it soon enough. While messing with people is a favorite pastime of mine, sadly even I couldn't make up a lie this delicious. Zuzu declaring war, the Earth Kingdom torn apart by civil conflict, general anarchy and all of that is escalating unchecked because no one knows where you are. I don't have to do anything to destroy you. Just your absence alone is taking care of all that." She stroked a finger down the bridge of his nose, taking supreme satisfaction in knowing that he wanted to turn away and could not. "It's actually funny…my brother has been looking for you this entire time and the irony is, you've been practically under his feet all along."

****

He crept into the corridor towards the shirshu's holding area when it was late and guard around the animal had relaxed considerably. Only a few Dai Li agents loitered about, but it was evident that they weren't particularly alert. Consequently, clothed in standard Dai Li garb and his head ducked low, Long Feng glided past them with relative ease and without raising suspicion. It had taken several weeks for security to loosen enough for him to even determine the shirshu's location. Now that he did know, Long Feng wasted little time putting his plan into motion.

The fact was, Azula needed the shirshu to control the Avatar. Without the venom she extracted from the animal, her plan would crumble and quickly. Whoever had the shirshu then, had Azula. With his own private location established as a hiding place for the animal, Long Feng planned to abscond with the beast and, thereby, bend the princess to his bidding. Then she would see who was "destined" to lead and who was not.

After a cautious glance about him to ensure that the hallway was devoid of possible witnesses, Long Feng quickly and quietly slipped into the animal's cell and locked the door behind him. The room was large and mostly bare save for a few piles of straw and the animal itself. On the far end of the cell, the shirshu, which appeared to be nothing more than a shivering ball of fur, was secured by a thick metal collar and chain that was bolted to the wall. She barely even acknowledged Long Feng's entrance, other than to lift her head briefly before settling her chin back against her paws with a pathetic whimper.

"I can see Azula has done a fine job of breaking you," Long Feng commented as he cautiously approached. "That means less work for me." As if she had caught on to his taunting, Nyla began to emit a fierce, rumbling growl as he came closer. "I don't want to hurt you," Long Feng told her. "I'm going to take you out of here and then…you'll belong to me." Despite the "reassurance," the growling intensified and Nyla staggered to her feet with a quick lash of her tongue.

Long Feng stumbled back, mere inches away from being paralyzed. He glared at the animal. She continued to struggle and flick at him, but her chain prevented her from coming any closer. "You still have some fire, I see," Long Feng considered grimly. "No matter. I have something for that."

Recognizing that he only had a matter of minutes to free Nyla and lead her out of there without arousing suspicion, Long Feng quickly produced a small dart laced with the sedative Azula used to keep the Avatar in check from the folds of his robes. He expected the drug would relax the animal enough for him to bend them both to the upper levels so that he could make his escape.

Azula thought she was so clever keeping the Avatar's location hidden from him, but she wasn't nearly as careful about keeping her means to control him secret. From several snippets of conversation, he'd discerned that, in addition to the shirshu toxin, Azula also used a sedative-like drug to make the Avatar calm and malleable. Long Feng saw no reason why the drug couldn't work in his favor as well.

Smiling over the irony, Long Feng brought the thin bamboo tube to his lips and blew the dart. It hissed through the open air before splitting the shirshu's thick fur and embedding in her tender flesh. She howled in outrage, stomping her feet and straining against her bonds before aggression began to slowly dissipate until she finally relaxed again and settled back to the ground. Only when she lay there, whimpering quietly, did Long Feng approach her. This time he received no opposition.

He quickly went to work on her chain, deftly trying each key on the ring that he had lifted from an unsuspecting Dai Li agent earlier that evening. Nyla barely stirred while Long Feng grew increasingly anxious, realizing that his time was gradually running low. In a matter of minutes, the guards were likely to make their round through the corridor. The longer he stayed, the greater his risk of discovery.

After what seemed like an eternity he found the right key and quickly unlocked the metal fetter around Nyla's neck. As he was doing so, however, something primal flickered in the shirshu's fathomless, black eyes and she emitted a low, menacing growl. Long Feng became aware of that wild gleam mere seconds before she lifted her paw to take a swipe at him. He instinctively dove out of the way, narrowly missing having his throat ripped open. Instead, she caught him across his shoulder as he ducked away, her razor-sharp claws tearing through the heavy material of his robes and drawing forth ribbons of blood.

Hissing with pain, Long Feng scrambled into a protective ball as she charged him, covering himself with a defensive shell of earth to shield himself from attack. She barreled into the structure with the mighty force of an elephant-ram, shattering it into a million tiny particles of rock and dust. Long Feng went sailing across the room as well.

He rolled to his feet, quickly elevating himself up onto a cylinder of earth. Undeterred by the evasion, Nyla lunged against the adjacent wall and used it as a springboard to catapult herself towards Long Feng. Escaping her charge, Long Feng propelled forth a shelf of earth from a nearby wall and flipped to safety before she could flick him with her tongue. She stalked him relentlessly across the confines of the cell, impervious to his acrobatic twists and turns. She bounced after him with cat-like efficiency, hounding his every retreat. During one of his flips from one platform to another, Nyla tackled him mid-air and sent them both tumbling to the hard ground below.

The impact was bone-jarring and excruciating. Despite the pain exploding through his prone body, Long Feng took advantage of the shirshu's disorientation to earthbend a fortress around her in a feeble attempt to keep her contained. Enraged, Nyla burst through the rock wall and charged at him furiously. The pounding of her paws echoed in Long Feng's ears as she closed the distance between them. Too injured to scramble to safety, Long Feng reacted in pure instinct.

At the precise moment she would have pounced on him, he turned up his hands to bring a rock spike up from the earth. It knocked the shirshu squarely in the chest and sent her airborne. Her anguished howl echoed ominously through the chamber. She landed with an audible thud across the room in a billowing cloud of dust.

When everything had settled, Long Feng struggled painfully to his feet and staggered over to the fallen animal. She convulsed in agony. Her breath rattled wetly in her lungs. Blood matted her dark, thick fur. There was little doubt that the injury was fatal. Long Feng sneered down at her while clutching at his injured side. "You stupid animal," he grunted. "It didn't have to be this way."

Outside the cell, a commotion erupted as the Dai Li guards were alerted to his presence. "You there!" one of them called imperiously. "Stay where you are!" They rushed in after him, but their efforts to apprehend him were all in vain. By the time they entered the demolished cell, Long Feng had already vanished through the floor.


	15. Chapter Fourteen

**Chapter Fourteen**

"The shirshu is dead."

Following his grim pronouncement, JianJun prepared himself for an awesome display of temper from Azula. Even without her bending she remained dangerous and volatile and he well expected she would not receive the news pleasantly. However, JianJun was dumbfounded when she regarded him with nothing more than a dispassionate stare. In fact, she hardly seemed surprised or alarmed at all.

"We found this," he clarified, passing her the laced dart. "Whoever used it obviously had the intent to sedate the animal, but wasn't aware of the drug's hallucinogenic effects. It's likely that the person lost control of her shortly after the dose was administered."

Azula brushed back a tendril of hair from her forehead before turning the dart over in her hands. "Do you have any ideas who that person could be?" she queried in a casual tone, but it was evident from her expression that she already knew.

"All of my agents are well aware of the effects that drug would have had," JianJun said. "They never would have used it, especially without your express permission."

"Then that leaves only one possible suspect," Azula concluded calmly.

JianJun nodded, having come to the same conclusion himself earlier. "My sincerest and most humble apologies, Princess," he rushed out. "I will see to it that the offending Dai Li guards are punished for their lapse in judgment. He should have never been allowed entrance. This will never happen—,"

"Silence!" Azula interrupted sharply. "This isn't a disaster, JianJun. The time to release the Avatar was fast approaching anyway."

"We still have some work to do with him, Princess," JianJun protested. "He has a very strong will."

"Yes, and that will is weakening," Azula considered. "He's primed. He won't admit it, but he's already starting to doubt my brother and himself. Just a little while longer and I don't doubt he'll belong to us completely."

"Much of that is largely due to the drug and the confusion it causes, Princess," JianJun reminded her. "You must be careful with how much you give him. There can be a very small margin between temporary hallucinations and permanent madness."

"The Avatar mad…" Azula murmured with a soft, amused grunt. "That would be poetic justice. It's almost as if we've traded places, after all."

"You don't want him insane," JianJun warned her.

"I suppose you have a point," Azula sighed. "I don't want that. Which means _you_ need to step up your efforts. I want him broken completely by tonight. He's on the edge, JianJun…we only need to push him over. When we move against Ba Sing Se, he needs to be ready."

"Yes, Princess," JianJun replied dutifully. "And Long Feng? Shall I dispose of him?"

Azula smiled at the underlying eagerness she detected in his tone. "No," she answered after a brief pause of silence. "Have him brought to me instead. I want to deal with him personally."

"As you wish, Princess."

Half an hour later when Long Feng was escorted to her, flanked by two Dai Li agents, Azula knew exactly what she had planned for him. She was loitering in front of June's cell when Long Feng approached. After dismissing the agents, she keenly noted the careful rigidity in Long Feng's posture with narrowed eyes. "Rough night?" she inquired mildly. "You don't look so good, Long Feng."

"Is there a reason why you had me brought down to the prison hold in the middle of the night?" Long Feng demanded imperiously.

Though he was outwardly annoyed, inwardly Long Feng was feeling the first stirrings of concern. He wondered if she was aware of his involvement in the bungled attempt to steal the shirshu. On one hand, he considered that if she did know, he would have been dead already. But on the other, he recognized it would be only a matter of time before she discovered his part in it and, by then, it was possible she'd find death too merciful an end for him. Either way, his fate seemed rather grim. Still, even facing those prospects, Long Feng was unwilling to throw himself on her mercy. If she was waiting for a confession, she'd have a long, uneventful wait.

"You seem nervous," Azula purred. "Does being in the place where you brainwashed so many give you chills?"

"Why would it give me chills? I did it for the good of Ba Sing Se," he replied stiffly. "This place is a tribute to my endless sacrifices for this city. I have never regretted my actions."

Azula circled him. "Then why so anxious?" she whispered. "You seem almost…afraid."

A shiver of renewed apprehension quivered down Long Feng's spine, but in spite of that he sneered at her. "I don't fear you," he scoffed coldly.

"You don't _want_ to fear me," Azula corrected.

"What do you want from me, Princess?" he demanded in a near bored tone.

She snapped to attention in front of him, scrutinizing his features closely for any betrayal of weakness. His expression remained impassive and guarded. "I'm sure you've heard by now," she said. "The shirshu was killed last night."

"Oh?" Long Feng inquired in an outward display of surprise.

"Apparently, her ribcage was crushed," Azula went on to explain. "The broken bones punctured her lungs." She caressed his shoulder before giving his upper arm a brutal squeeze. Long Feng didn't as much as flinch, but he did pale considerably. "I'm sure you can imagine how excruciating broken bones can be," she remarked lightly. "Her death was very slow and very painful. Have you any idea who would want to do such a cruel, inhuman thing?"

"I don't know why you would come to me," Long Feng snapped. "You've made a point of keeping me out of the loop as far as your private dealings go."

"That doesn't mean you haven't made an effort to keep yourself informed, now does it, Long Feng?" He grunted noncommittally before leaning against a nearby wall because remaining upright was beginning to feel like a chore to him. "What's the matter?" Azula inquired innocently. "You do seem a bit…fatigued."

He seemed more than "fatigued" and Azula knew it. Long Feng stood before her, his complexion waxy and his entire body trembling with obvious pain. She half expected his knees to go out from him at any moment. Beads of perspiration visibly dotted his ashen features and his sunken eyes had taken on a rather glazed appearance. The results of his battle with the shirshu no doubt.

"I'm not fatigued or nervous," Long Feng denied in exasperation. "I'm merely annoyed. I cannot understand why you would drag me down here to question me about something that has nothing to do with me!"

"Oh, but it does have something to do with you," Azula countered, watching him pale even further before she added, "Without the shirshu, we cannot control the Avatar and if that happens…all of our plans, _yours_ and mine, go up in smoke."

"Surely, you have other means…" Long Feng prodded.

"So then you're not as ignorant as you pretend to be," Azula concluded tersely. "We use that drug to keep the Avatar disoriented. It's the shirshu venom that keeps him immobilized."

"Disoriented?" Long Feng echoed sharply. "It's not a sedative?"

"Not exactly. It's a hallucinogenic," Azula replied. "Sometimes, it can make him a little crazy…" With that revelation, Long Feng's eyes flashed with hatred. He wondered, in searing consideration, if she had known all along what he had planned. Perhaps, she had even hoped that he'd meet with his demise through his efforts. Correctly reading the thoughts playing out behind his eyes, Azula charged softly, "It was you, wasn't it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Long Feng lied smoothly.

"Don't play me for a fool," she bit out. "If I wanted you dead, you would have been by now. Although, it's nothing less than you deserve." When Long Feng remained stubbornly silent, Azula pressed on, undeterred by his lack of verbal confession. His eyes had already given her the truth.

"Listen to me," Azula began in an even tone, "if the situation weren't so dire, I would kill you. However, I'm giving you the opportunity to redeem yourself, Long Feng. In three days time I am to rendezvous with the army generals. We will storm the walls of Ba Sing Se and take it for good this time. There is just enough shirshu toxin to keep the Avatar subdued until then. You will find me more."

"How am I supposed to do that?" Long Feng demanded. "I am not your errand boy, Princess!"

"You are whatever I wish you to be," Azula sneered in return. "And you will do this!"

"Where do you recommend I start?" he practically spat.

"I'm sure you'll think of something. Must I hold your hand through every little task?" she snapped. "You made this mess! Now clean it up!"

"And if I don't?" Long Feng challenged. "It seems to me that this is your problem, Princess."

"It is your problem as well," she stated coldly. "Unless your life is suddenly expendable to you. This isn't a request, Long Feng. It is a command. Do as I tell you, and I'll consider letting you live in spite of your recent transgression."

He couldn't bring himself to give her a verbal acquiesce. His dignity and pride would not allow it. However, he did jerk a nod of consent.

"Very good," Azula commended. She waved her hand in dismissal. "You may go now." As he started to turn away to lope down the corridor, she added, "And Long Feng? Don't fail me again." Only when he was completely out of sight did she turn a sideways glance towards the bounty hunter's cell and smile.

****

Aang lay with his hands tucked behind his head and admired the way the sunlight caught the auburn highlights in Katara's hair as she crawled into bed beside him. They were tucked away together in his old room at the Southern Air Temple. The bed was not designed to accommodate two people, but somehow they managed to snuggle together comfortably. They exchanged "good mornings" between languid kisses. The moment was peaceful and quiet and warm with contentment. Katara drifted her fingers over the smooth, lean skin of Aang's abdomen while he played absently with the tendrils of her hair.

She smiled against his stomach, placing a soft kiss there. "For someone who has an aversion for hair, you seem awfully fascinated with mine," she teased him.

A low rumble of laughter sounded in his chest. "I never said I had an aversion," Aang murmured in protest. "I simply like it better on _you_."

"Do you now?" Katara challenged, tossing a smile up at him. And then she rose up onto her knees to straddle him, deliberating climbing up the length of his body until they were nose to nose. "And I like it better on _you_," she countered softly as she settled down against him. However, her smile faltered a bit as she reached up to sift her fingers through the tufts of short curls crowning his head. "Though you growing it this way isn't exactly what I had in mind…"

Her words had a dousing effect, opening the way for reality to creep in. The blissful scene around them began to darken and fade. The sun fell away to be replaced with dank, bare walls. The bed shifted into wooden stocks and Katara's arms became the ropes binding his hands and feet together. They were in the box once more, with Aang immobile and weak and Katara regarding him with sad eyes.

"You have to get out of here, Aang," she urged him. "We need you."

"I can't…" he protested faintly. "Too tired…"

"Aang, you have to," Katara pressed him. "You're the only one who can stop it."

"Stop what?"

"Stop the war," Katara said. "We can't end it without you. The people need you. _I_ need you."

"The war's over, Katara," Aang replied with a bewildered frown. "We ended it together, remember?"

Katara cupped his cheek tenderly, as if she meant to soften the emotional blow her next words were sure to inflict upon him. "There is another war, Aang," she told him. "I don't know if I can free you this time. I don't know how to find you."

Azula's mocking words sounded in his ears and Aang shook his head in denial, as if the idea of war was too much to contemplate. "No…not again…"

"You can stop it," Katara reassured him. "It's not too late, but… You have to get out of here, Aang."

"What about Zuko…"

"Zuko is not the Avatar. You are. He can only protect his people," Katara said. "It's _your_ duty to protect the world and the world needs you now."

"I can't…I can't…" he mumbled in protest. _Now is that any way for the world's last hope to talk?_ He tried to excise the memory of Azula's taunts from his memory, but they echoed in his brain. He felt he was letting the world down again and it was crushing him. "Is any of this true?" he asked Katara wearily. "I know you won't lie to me. Is there really a war or am I going crazy?"

"Aang, there's really a war."

He was torn between believing her and dismissing her. If he believed her then the reality would be almost too horrific to contemplate. It would be a macabre reenactment of what had happened only six years before, when he had spent one hundred years locked in an iceberg while the world plunged into chaos. But if he dismissed her, that would be a clear indication that he was truly going insane. Neither choice was a welcome one.

"This is crazy," Aang argued to himself. "This is in my head. It's all in my head." He looked at Katara. "_You're_ in my head. I want you to be here, but I know you're not."

"Aang, I'm here because you brought me here," Katara replied. "You asked me the questions and I'm giving you the answers. You just have to accept them."

"This is not real," Aang recited stubbornly. "This is _not_ real!"

Katara framed his face and snapped his gaze to hers. "Aang, listen to me," she insisted in an anxious tone. "I know you're confused and scared. So am I. I don't understand what's happening either, but I _do_ know I'm here for a reason. The situation is bad. The last of the Fire Nation colonies have fallen. It is only a matter of time before the rebel army turns its attention towards Earth Kingdom strongholds, namely Omashu and Ba Sing Se."

"The colonies?" Aang echoed weakly. "What does that mean? Did Zuko do this? Did…did he declare this war?"

"No, he didn't. But the end results are the same. The rebel armies attacked the colonies. He had no choice, Aang," Katara explained. "He had to protect his people."

Aang reacted to that with an embittered laugh, tears burning the backs of his eyes because the only word that seemed to echo over and over in his mind was war…and once again, when the world needed him, he was nowhere to be found. "Right…" he grunted. "No choice? I doubt it… This was what he wanted all along. He never wanted to let them go, Katara."

"Aang, what are you saying?" she demanded in an aghast whisper.

"I'm saying maybe Zuko bit off more than he could chew…" Aang mumbled, "…because we both know he never had any intention on disbanding the colonies."

"You're wrong," Katara clipped in a disbelieving whisper. "Why would you think something like that?"

"Tell me…are there Fire Nation troops in Ba Sing Se right now or not?" Aang fired abruptly.

Katara frowned at him. "How would you know that, Aang?"

"Just tell me!"

"Yes," she answered reluctantly. "But it's not what you're thinking."

"You mean that Zuko took advantage of the fact I wasn't around and invaded the Earth Kingdom?" Aang queried bitterly. "Because if that's what you're getting at then yes! That's _exactly_ what I'm thinking."

"And you'd be wrong!" Katara reiterated strongly. "The Earth Kingdom attacked first! Aang, you have to understand what I'm telling you! They attacked first! That's why you were taken! It was all a part of a massive plot…it was Azula's plan all along!"

"But Azula didn't create the climate for war!" Aang snapped back. "And Azula wasn't the one who stubbornly refused to let go of the colonies and end this conflict before it could begin! This was Zuko's doing…" _And mine too_, he added silently, but even in the darkness, Katara could plainly read the thought in his eyes.

"I understand that you're frustrated and you want someone to blame, but this isn't helping anyone!" she cried.

"And why shouldn't I blame him?" Aang ground out. "It's his fault…it _is_ his fault… He did this…_we_ did this…"

Katara shook her head in denial of his words. "You don't know what you're saying right now," she said. "You're confused."

"Don't do that! I know what I'm saying!" he bit out. "I trusted him, Katara, and the minute I was out of the picture, he made his move!"

"That's not how it happened," Katara insisted fiercely. "I'm telling you that's not how it happened! You're making all this up in your head and you're not even listening to me! You know Zuko would never betray you!"

"Don't defend him!" Aang cried. "For all I know, I'm in this box _because_ of him! It wouldn't be the first time he's betrayed someone close to him!"

"What are you talking about? You don't believe that. I know you don't believe that," Katara whispered. "This isn't like you. This isn't _you_, Aang." She framed his face in her hands, pressing her face so close to his that their tears mingled. "What is she doing to you?"

"I don't know what I believe," he muttered pitiably. "I don't know what's real anymore…"

"I'm real," Katara whispered, cradling his face in her hands to brush tender kisses across his eyes, "and I love you."

"Don't you see?" he mumbled. "It's happening all over again. It can't be happening again. It can't…it's just a nightmare. It has to be." He closed his eyes and opened them again, as if he expected Katara to vanish altogether. But she didn't vanish. Aang was glad and, at the same time, he wasn't.

Lovingly, she smoothed the anguished lines of his features with her fingertips. "You've been in here too long and it's making you doubt yourself and everything you know," she murmured. "But don't doubt me. Don't doubt us, Aang. It's not like the last time. You can stop this…you just have to get out of here first."

Despite the fervency of her words, he seemed to withdraw from her. His eyes glazed as he retreated back into a place within himself where she could not reach him. "Azula said I was beneath his feet…" he muttered. "Maybe he's known that the whole time."

"Maybe who's known that, Aang?" Katara asked as he drifted away. "What are you talking about?"

"Zuko," he answered. "Maybe this was always his plan…" He stared at her with fathomless gray eyes. "After all…who can you really trust?"

****

Katara bolted upright, her body drenched in a cold sweat. The dream had felt so vivid and real that the alarm pulsing in her blood as a result of her strange conversation with Aang continued to flow through her veins. Even with the last remnants of sleep fading away, she still felt inundated with the need to shake Aang for being so stubborn and unreasonable. The things he was saying…he didn't even seem like Aang at all.

It wasn't the first time Katara had dreamed of Aang since his disappearance. He haunted her nights and her waking hours. Her longing for him was a continual ache in her chest, but after nearly a month she was starting to grow accustomed to it. Yet, there was something markedly different about the dreams she'd been having of him recently. They felt almost as if they weren't _her_ dreams at all…but Aang's…as if she had merely been pulled into them.

Shivering at the thought, Katara climbed from the bed and crossed over to the open window to stare out at the cloudy, night sky. In contrast with the quiet darkness, Katara's heart was a quagmire of rampaging emotion. They were losing the war. The longer Aang stayed missing, the lower morale sank. Zuko was growing disheartened. The troops were growing disheartened. She was growing disheartened as well. She hadn't yet lost all hope, but it was difficult not to become cynical and jaded and embittered. Most particular, however, was Katara's certainty that Aang was feeling the same way.

She couldn't shake the dread that last dream conversation had conjured up. She couldn't shake the odd conviction that it had been no dream at all. In her mind's eye, she could envision Aang's cell clearly, she could see the devastating effects his imprisonment had wreaked on Aang…the pale pallor of his skin, his marked loss of weight and even his gradual loss of will. It didn't feel like imagination at all, but like she was witnessing what truly served as Aang's reality these days. Her heart constricted painfully with the theory. If it was true, Azula was slowly breaking him, physically and emotionally.

And while it was possible the visions were something her worried mind was creating on its own, Katara could not completely believe that was the case. There was something else nagging her to believe these dreams were more than just nocturnal manifestations of her subconscious. Even though it seemed impossible and ridiculous, Katara honestly felt like Aang was speaking to her and she was trying very hard to listen.

"Aang," she whispered, turning her face towards the caressing night breeze, "I don't know what to do. Tell me what to do. Am I reading too much into this or are you really talking to me?" The wind billowed and danced around her, ruffling the curtains and her nightgown, but seemingly without answer.

Katara hugged herself tight, chafing her hands against the fine gooseflesh that rose on her forearms. "Just give me an answer…please," she pleaded. The wind whispered again and this time the wispy clouds overhead began to clear away to reveal the incandescent glow of the half moon. Katara stared up at it before casting her forlorn gaze out across the city. From her vantage point in the palace, even with the lights burning low, the shimmer off the surface of Lake Laogai was still visible. The water looked so calm and tranquil that one would have never known it had once concealed a web of secret tunnels, much like the ones that were beneath the palace.

… _Azula said I was beneath his feet…_

Gasping, Katara slowly came erect as the full implication dawned on her with crashing force. "Oh my…" she murmured as the wind billowed again and she realized, without a single doubt, that she'd received her answer after all.


	16. Chapter Fifteen

**Chapter Fifteen**

Aang opened his eyes when he felt his gag dissipate around his mouth. "Roku…"

_I'm here, Aang._

"It's been a long time," he whispered.

_Too long, _Roku agreed.

"I'm tired of feeling helpless," he said. "I need your wisdom and your strength."

_You've never been helpless, Aang. My wisdom is your wisdom, my strength, your strength._

"But, I'm so lost," Aang mumbled. "I'm failing the world again and I don't know what to do anymore…or who can I trust."

_It is only failure if you give up…or give in._

"Is it true?" Aang asked. "Is there really a war going on? Has it come to that?"

_It has._

Aang closed his eyes, swamped with remorse and sorrow. "Is it my fault?" he wondered mournfully. "Did I do this? Is it because I didn't act quickly enough?"

_As long as a need for the Avatar exists, then war and conflict will exist as well._

"I need to get out of this place." Though he was overwhelmed and afraid, he was filled with determination as well.

_The power is within you._

"How?" Aang groaned weakly. "I can't move. I can barely think. I'm not even sure the Avatar State can help me."

_The power is within you, Aang._

"That's not an answer," he ground out.

_Yes_, Roku replied. _It is_.

****

Katara was on her fourth round of pounding when Zuko finally yanked open the double doors to his guest bedchamber. She stood in the candlelit hallway in only her nightgown and dressing robe, bare feet and unkempt hair. He glared at her. "Have you completely lost it?" he demanded irately. "It's the middle of the night!" After a full day of training and strategizing, herding the influx of refugees into the city, not to mention dodging his mother as a result of his latest decision concerning Azula, Zuko was exhausted and cranky and in desperate need of a decent night of rest. Especially because he knew the next day would bring more of the same.

Seemingly impervious to all of this, Katara shouldered past him into the room without waiting for an invitation. "The crystal catacombs!" she announced frantically, prompting Zuko's longsuffering sigh. "That's where Aang is! We need to wake everyone and go right now!"

"What?" Zuko cried softly. "What are you talking about?"

"It makes so much sense!" Katara babbled on in a near nonsensical stream of words. "Azula probably thought it was poetic justice somehow to lock Aang up in the place where she killed him. She's probably been laughing at us this entire time!"

"Okay…where are you getting all this?" Zuko demanded blankly.

"I don't have time to explain it," Katara retorted impatiently, "and if I tried, you'd just think I was crazy! Can we please just go?"

Disgruntled and still half asleep, Mai swung rolled upright with a befuddled frown, clutching the thin sheets to her bare torso. "If it counts for anything, _I_ think you're crazy," she declared with a broad yawn. "What's going on now?"

"I know where Aang is," Katara told her. "Get up! We need to get moving right away." She snatched up Mai's dressing gown and threw it at her. Mai caught the satin material in a single fist. "Get dressed!" Katara ordered.

"Okay…okay. I'm getting up," Mai groused. "Do I have time to put on any underwear or are we all staging this rescue half naked?" While her sarcasm rolled freely, Mai knew better than to argue with Katara when she was in such an agitated state. After years of being surrounded by the drama that characterized her particular group of friends, she had learned years ago to simply go with the flow.

"Would you stop harassing my wife?" Zuko cried in exasperation when Katara crossed the room and actually began stuffing Mai's arms into her robe.

"I'm just helping her," Katara retorted shortly.

"Let her help, Zuko," Mai bid him. "I'm afraid she'll take off my arm if I move too much."

"Can you hurry it up?" Katara pestered. "Zuko, stop standing there with your mouth open and do something!"

"Wait…wait…wait…" Zuko protested. "How exactly do you know this? What gives you the impression Aang is in the crystal catacombs? It's highly unlikely that the Dai Li are even in Ba Sing Se, Katara."

"He's there, Zuko," Katara insisted.

"Like I said…" Zuko reiterated stridently, "…how do you know this?"

"Because," she replied, her blue stare was unflinching, "Aang told me."

****

"Allow me to offer my condolences on your recent loss," Azula announced upon entering June's cell.

The bounty hunter growled at her, her features obscured behind a curtain of matted, black hair. Of course, Azula didn't need to see June's face to know that her expression was curled into a sneer of contempt. She strained against the chains manacling her wrists and Azula had little doubt that, had she been free, June would have manacled her throat in a similar manner. In an odd way, Azula almost admired the older woman's unrelenting bloodlust.

"Don't act like you care!" June hissed. "Nyla was expendable to you and we both know it!"

Azula knelt before the snarling woman. "If it means anything to you…I never wanted your animal dead," she told June. "She was much more useful to me alive. Her death was nothing but a waste."

"I can tell you're really choked up about it!" June derided scornfully.

"You're angry and you have reason to be," Azula replied with an unruffled toss of her head. "But growling at me is counterproductive. First of all, it won't bring back your animal. And second of all…don't you think all this hostility should be directed at the person who actually killed her?" June went completely still at the suggestion, raising her dark, intense stare to Azula for the first time since the former Fire Nation princess had entered her cell. "Now that I have your undivided attention," Azula began with a satisfied smile. "Why don't we discuss business?"

June raked her with a frosty once-over. "What kind of business would I want to do with you?"

"The kind that would be advantageous for us both," Azula answered.

"Really? How's that?"

"You want to avenge your animal's death, I'm sure," Azula prompted slyly, "and I would like another shirshu to replace the one I've lost."

"She was never yours to lose," June pointed out between clenched teeth.

"Let's not quibble over the details," Azula sighed. "I want another."

"Shirshus are very rare," June told her. "They've been hunted into near extinction. You won't find one easily, even if you do know the right places to look."

"But they aren't extinct yet and I'm a very determined young woman," Azula countered. "Tell me where I can find one and I'll make sure Long Feng is delivered here to you on a silver platter. You may do with him what you wish."

"Remind me never to turn my back on you," June snorted. "With friends like you, who needs enemies?"

"Long Feng and I are hardly friends."

"Who cares what you are?" June considered dryly. "You gave him up a moment ago without even batting an eyelash. And people say I'm cold…"

"Then that should give you food for thought if you consider double-crossing me," Azula warned her.

"You know, using the venom the way you do could cause prolonged harm to that kid," June warned her. "Did you ever think of that or don't you care?"

"Do you want Long Feng or not?" Azula demanded brusquely.

June's eyes glinted with icy, stark hatred. "I want him."

"Very good," Azula commended. "Tell me what I want to know and I'll see to it that you get him." Twenty minutes later, Azula exited June's cell to find JianJun loyally standing guard. She checked the odd impulse to smile at him. "I have a task for you," she told him. "But before you leave I want you to do two things: see to it that Long Feng pays a visit to the bounty hunter and…" she paused to flick an admiring glance towards June's cage, "…return her whip."

****

For the first time in what seemed like an eternity, Aang was able to clear the haze of confusion from his mind to focus and meditate. There were still traces of the drug in his system, as was the venom, but he felt a great deal less woozy. It was possible that now, after so much use, his body was building a tolerance to both and, therefore, the effects were wearing off sooner than expected. The development would prove to be a problem for Azula, but it was an unanticipated blessing for Aang.

Aang closed his eyes and took deep, even breaths, concentrating on that one, methodical act until the filthy confines of his cell eventually fell away from around him, leaving him encompassed with nothing but quiet, tranquil peace. There was no fear or uncertainty or anger on that plain of existence. Aang could simply be…simply breathe…and it was the most unburdened he had felt in a very long time. Only then did he feel the sinuous, winding currents of pure, cosmic energy flowing through his body after so many weeks of silence. The pulsating presence of his past lives drummed in his veins. Now that Aang had gained a modicum of lucidity, the Avatar State no longer proved inaccessible to him as it had before.

Consequently, when he surfaced from his meditative trance he was a great deal calmer and intensely resolved. After formulating a simple plan for escape, Aang waited patiently for his tormentors to arrive. He was in the middle of humming a song he and Gyatso would sing together when he was a child when his guards entered his cell.

"It's time, Avatar," the taller of the two announced upon entrance. "It would help if you didn't put up so much of a fuss this time."

The moment Aang lifted his head to regard the Dai Li agent; the man brought the dart to his lips. A second later it was splitting through the air, but Aang was ready. Aang blew forth a sharp breath of air so that the dart was redirected mid-flight. Instead of landing in its intended target, Aang's shoulder, it planted squarely in the chest of the offending Dai Li. The agent's shocked stare bounced between Aang and the dart in his chest before he stumbled backwards into the wall with a muted yelp. Horrified, his companion fumbled to ready his own dart, but the missile barely left the shoot before it was making a similar sharp turn as the one before it due to the air blast from Aang's palms. The dart embedded itself right on the tip of the Dai Li agent's nose. With a comical crossing of his eyes, he tumbled forward in a useless heap.

Aang shook his head in chagrin. "You'd think you would have learned something from your friend's mistake," he commented dryly. "And Toph thinks _I_ take a long time to get it."

As he quickly went to work at burning through the ropes that were tied around his ankles and wrists, the first Dai Li agent suddenly shot to his feet with a petrified yelp. "Get them off me! Get them off me!" he cried hysterically, beating at his robes with frantic hands. "They're _everywhere_!"

Trying to ignore the fact that the Dai Li agent, who was clearly having some kind of breakdown as there was nothing on him what so ever, Aang hurriedly finished burning through his ropes. He did his best to avoid the manic Dai Li agent, who literally danced from one end of his cell to the other, screaming about the creepy, crawling things overtaking his body. Aang didn't know whether to laugh or pity the man, especially because the drug that was making him so twitchy was the very drug they'd had administered to him time and time again. No wonder he'd been having conversations with dead people!

Not for the first time, Aang wondered what kind of long-term effects it might have, but quickly dismissed the worry from his mind. After disintegrating the lock that held his wooden stocks, Aang pushed up the upper shelf and stretched his body. The movement was sweet agony. There was pain in freedom. Spending so much time in one position had done a disservice to his muscles and, as he struggled to regain his footing, they screamed in protest.

His arms and legs felt about as stable as water and he had to use his wooden bonds just to steady himself. He was in the middle of testing out a step when his movement finally caught the attention of the frenzied Dai Li agent. The man fixed Aang with glazed eyes. "It's you!" he snarled, punching out his fist to send the concealed earthen replica flying forward. As he had done with the darts before it, Aang managed to lift his jellied arms to redirect the fist before it could make contact. Instead, it abruptly changed course to launch straight at the Dai Li, hitting the unsuspecting agent squarely in the face. He fell over unconscious alongside his companion.

"Sorry about that," Aang grunted to the insensible man as he stumbled over to agent's fallen body. "I know you weren't yourself." He then turned his attention to the conscious Dai Li agent at his feet. The prone man stared up at him with wide, fearful eyes. "Relax, I'm not going to hurt you," Aang told him. "I just want your hat, your clothes…oh, and your braid. I need to look as official as possible." When the agent looked positively horrified by this, Aang quickly added, "Don't worry. It'll grow back. Look at the bright side…at least I'm not taking your underclothes. That would be too traumatic for us both."

As Aang bent down to begin stripping him of his robes, the Dai Li agent didn't know if he should be reassured by the Avatar's words or slightly disturbed.

****

"He's not down here." Toph's pronouncement echoed dissonantly down through the abandoned tunnels, mingling with the disappointed sighs and groans from her friends. But none were louder or more fervid than Katara's.

Sorrowful stares ricocheted to her face, but the tears that blurred her vision Katara stubbornly refused to shed. "No," she refuted with an obstinate shake of her head. "I don't accept that. He has to be down here. Toph, check again!"

"Katara, I'm telling you. There's nothing down here," Toph insisted. "I'm not sensing any vibrations besides our own. This place is abandoned."

"That can't be," Katara denied, rounding the cavern in a helpless circle. She traced her fingers across the smooth surface of one of the glowing, green crystals jutting up from the ground. "Aang _has_ to be down here."

"If you want to check every square inch of this place, we can do it," Toph offered gently, "but I doubt we're going to find anything."

"Are you sure Aang told you he was in the crystal catacombs?" Sokka pressed his sister.

"Um…not to insert logic into this or anything," Mai interjected, "but does anyone, besides _me_, find it strange that we're basing all of this on a conversation Katara had with Aang _in her dreams_? How can we know for sure that any of this is real?"

"It's spirit world shenanigans, Mai," Sokka replied dismissively as if that was explanation enough. "Aang does this kind of stuff all the time. The idea of him talking to Katara in a dream isn't such a stretch."

"Okay, yeah," she mumbled. "Just checking." Casually averting her head, she added in a lower tone that only Zuko heard, "Yep, apparently I'm the only one." Husband and wife traded a wry glance.

"So what did Aang say exactly?" Sokka asked Katara again. "Did he tell you he was in the crystal catacombs? Is this where you saw him?"

"Well, not exactly," Katara hedged.

"What do you mean not exactly?" Suki asked. "I thought that's why you had us all running down here in our pajamas…because you knew for sure."

"Aang never actually mentioned being in the catacombs," Katara explained in frustration. "Wherever he is, it's dark and small. I've never seen outside of his cell. I just concluded he'd be down here on my own."

"You concluded? How?" Toph wondered.

"When I was with Aang, he mentioned that Azula told him that he was beneath Zuko's feet," Katara said. "The catacombs are right under the palace, _literally_ beneath Zuko's feet. It made sense."

"So then maybe he is down here after all," Suki concluded, surveying the crisscrossing caves spread out before them. "How extensive are these tunnels? It seems like a lot of ground to cover. Maybe they're just too big for your range, Toph."

"Nothing's too big for my range," Toph retorted defensively. "My range is just fine, Suki! The problem is you people don't listen. There is nothing down here. Sheesh. Do I need to break out sock puppets?"

"Don't get so testy, Toph. Maybe it doesn't have to be that complicated," Sokka considered, stroking his goatee pensively. "Azula said that Aang was under our feet…that could simply mean that he's underground. And, if that's the case, there's one other strong possibility we can check." He paused for a beat of dramatic silence. "Lake Laogai!"

If he expected an uproar over his revelation, Sokka was sadly disappointed. In fact, he was met with little more than stares of outright skepticism. Suki patted his shoulder, giving him a look that clearly said, "You tried, sweetie." He glowered at her.

Predictably, Toph was the first one to begin poking holes in his theory. "No dice, Sokka," she said flatly, provoking a petulant pout from him. "Lake Laogai is completely defunct now. Kuei had it collapsed and flooded shortly after he was restored to the throne. Aang, Katara and I helped him do it. It's been abandoned for years. There's nothing there anymore."

"Yeah, but the Dai Li are master earthbenders, remember?" Sokka argued. "A little of this and a little of that," he considered amid wild gesticulations meant to mimic earthbending, "and whackapow…new secret, underground labyrinth! The pieces all fit!"

"Yeah…" Zuko said slowly, "…that's a nice theory and all, Sokka, but why would they want to go to all the trouble of restoring Lake Laogai when they could find a different hiding place for Aang altogether? It would certainly be a lot easier and it would raise a great deal less suspicion than rebuilding their old hideout. Besides," he went on, reaching the very crux of his argument, "Azula may be crazy, but she isn't stupid. Lake Laogai would be way too obvious."

"You're right," Sokka agreed. "It is obvious and that might actually factor into the reason Azula chose it. She does seem to enjoy making a fool out of you, Zuko."

"Haha," Zuko returned dryly. "Is this how you propose to find Aang? With jokes at my expense?"

"Well, he does have a point," Mai considered. "I know Azula pretty well too, remember? She loves to mess with people. I could see her pulling something like that."

"Exactly, what could be more obvious than hiding Aang in the obvious place we obviously wouldn't look because it's so obvious?" Sokka declared. "It would be genius if it weren't so diabolical!"

"Still…" Zuko argued, his doubt concerning Sokka's convoluted hypothesis rather obvious as well. "Collapsed and flooded? That's a lot of trouble to go to just to stick it to me. It just seems like a long shot that Aang would be there. I mean, Azula's not even _in_ Ba Sing Se right now!"

"As far as you know she's not," Toph added pensively. "We have to remember that Azula's tricky. I wouldn't put anything past her."

"Sokka has a point," Katara whispered, speaking up for the first time since the Lake Laogai discussion had begun. "This does make sense. In one of my previous dreams, Aang had mentioned that there was water where he was, but that he couldn't bend it. I remembered hearing it too…like a muffled whooshing sound, but there wasn't any water around."

"Wasn't that more like a vision though?" Mai queried.

"It felt real," Katara replied. "It _was _real."

"But Katara, that could mean a lot of things," Suki cautioned. "Maybe you shouldn't get your hopes up about this, just in case he's not there."

"He's there," Katara insisted emotionally. "I was wrong about this place, but I'm not wrong about this. Aang's in Lake Laogai. I can feel it."

"Then let's go," Toph decided. "We've got nothing else to lose."


	17. Chapter Sixteen

**Chapter Sixteen**

"It's a lake," Zuko observed unenthusiastically.

Sokka cut Zuko a sardonic, sideways look. "Was it all the water that gave it away?" he mocked dryly.

Zuko made a sour face at him. "What I meant," he clarified with a glower, "was that there's nothing out here." He threw a glance out at the barren, lifeless terrain before him. "It's completely abandoned."

"It's completely creepy," Mai interjected.

"I wouldn't say it's completely abandoned, Zuko," Toph corrected slowly as she inched closer to the shoreline to place her hand flat against the earth. "Sokka was right for a change…the tunnels _have_ been rebuilt. They're bigger and much more intricate than I remember."

"They're down there?" Katara pressed anxiously, her eyes flaring wide with hope. "How do we get in?"

"Well, there's definitely _something_ down there," Toph confirmed in a cautious tone. "There's an entrance over on the other side of the lake." She pointed towards the area. "Let's go!" However, she hadn't even taken two full steps before she was stopping short with a groaning "uh-oh."

"Why uh-oh?" Suki wondered with a befuddled frown. "What's wrong?"

"That's what's wrong," Toph indicated as Dai Li agents began pouring from the entrance she had indicated a moment before. "We've got company, guys."

Sokka blinked at the sheer numbers. "I thought you said there were only a handful left!" he threw out accusingly at Zuko. "That's a small army right there!"

Zuko was not alarmed by the odds. "The six of us against them…we can take them," he declared fearlessly.

Doubtful, Sokka glanced down at his half-naked person, taking into account his bare chest and feet. "Aww man…but I'm not really dressed for a big, elaborate fight…I don't have my sword or even my boomerang…it just doesn't feel right," he complained. The words were barely out of his mouth, however, before he found himself narrowly dodging a rock fist that went sailing past his head. Sokka growled in aggravation. "But you know what?" he amended tersely, "I'll make an exception this time! Let's kick some Dai Li butt!"

****

Aang tried to be as nonchalant as possible when he stepped out of his cell almost twenty minutes later after binding and gagging his Dai Li captors. However, he failed miserably. His gait was terribly unsteady. He was like a newborn ostrich-horse on wobbly legs. It almost felt like he was relearning how to walk altogether. Remaining upright was an incredible chore. He actually broke a sweat just dragging one foot in front of the other. It would have been a great deal easier to manage if he had his staff, but Aang didn't have a clue where it was.

Besides that, finding his staff was the least of Aang's concerns. His chief mission was to find Appa and get out of there. Unfortunately, his determined efforts where hindered, not only by his uncooperative limbs, but also due to the fact he really had no idea where he was going. Aang had been almost certain that Azula had hidden him in the crystal catacombs beneath the palace. However, now that he was free and able to access his full surroundings for the first time in who knew how long, Aang discovered he wasn't the least bit familiar with them at all.

There were no stalagmite crystals, no unearthly green hue, nothing at all to indicate he was beneath the royal palace at all. He was presented only with a myriad of winding, torch-lit tunnels that seemed to stretch forever in any given direction. Truthfully, he had absolutely no idea which way to go so he merely started walking towards where he heard the most noise. He hoped that the voices would somehow lead him to Appa.

With slow, methodical steps in no particular direction, Aang plodded down the corridor, bending out a shelf of earth along the wall to lean against for support. He kept his head low so that his face wasn't visible beneath the wide brim of his hat. However, it proved to be only a matter of time before his weaving gait caught the attention of a passing Dai Li agent.

"Hey, buddy? You alright?"

Aang tensed as the man approached and waved him away, carefully keeping his face averted. "Don't get any closer to me," he warned. "I think I'm going to be sick."

The ominous caution stopped the man dead in his tracks. He regarded Aang with a mixture of concern and wariness before his features split in a slow smile of understanding. "Oh, I get you," he replied. "Knocked back one too many tonight, did you?"

Latching onto that excuse, Aang emitted a weak laugh. "You caught me," he said. "I guess I can't hold my liquor so well, huh?"

"Hey, I don't blame you," the Dai Li agent commiserated. "This job will drive you to drink."

"You said it," Aang agreed around a self-conscious cough.

"Well, go sleep it off," his newfound friend advised as he finally took his leave. "You wouldn't want the Ice Princess to see you like that. It would be your head."

When he was gone, Aang practically wilted against the wall in relief. He had managed to talk himself out of that sticky situation, but the next time he might not be so fortunate. Aang made a mental note to avoid further contact with the Dai Li altogether. Better to duck out of sight than engage. He'd have to use his sensory perception to get an idea of their location, however, so that he would have enough time to duck out of sight.

He started down yet another winding hallway as he detected that Dai Li agents awaited him in the opposite direction. However, he had only taken a few mincing steps when he heard a muffled bellow in the distance. Aang tensed and narrowed his eyes in concentration, listening closer. The bellow grew louder and more distinct. Aang recognized the sound immediately.

"Appa…" His heart lurched painfully as the bison's broken cries seem to sound louder and louder in his ears.

Aang abruptly made a turn, heading back in the direction he'd just come from. He followed the dissonant reverberations of Appa's bellows, impervious to the fact that his plan to avoid Dai Li agents would go up in smoke because of the choice. Nothing mattered besides Appa. He was going to get his bison and _no one_ was going to stop him.

****

"There's a problem."

Azula glanced up at JianJun as he entered her private quarters with a muted sigh of disgust. "Don't tell me that woman couldn't dispose of Long Feng after all," she sighed. "Must I do everything myself?"

"It's not about the bounty hunter," JianJun explained reluctantly. "It's your brother. He's found us, Princess."

"_What?_" Azula demanded irately, surging from her makeshift pallet to her feet. "He wasn't supposed to figure it out this soon!" However, just as soon as her ire flared, it died down to an ironic laugh. "Hmm…Zuzu is as impatient as ever, I see. If he had waited just a few days more he could have had exactly what he wanted and far more than he bargained for."

"My agents are managing to hold him at the surface, but that won't be true for too much longer."

"No matter," Azula replied, regaining her composure as she formulated an alternate plan in her head. "Tell the men to keep Zuko busy. Do not let him past the entrance. In the meantime, you and I will secure the Avatar and then…we'll give everyone the slip."

****

"I suppose you know why I'm here."

June slowly lifted her eyes to survey her newest visitor. "You must be Long Feng," she devised smoothly.

Just the sight of him alone was enough to make her quake with murderous rage. The pervasive need for revenge obliterated all reason and fear. When he had taken Nyla, he had not merely killed her pet, but her friend and companion of more than a decade. He _had_ to pay for that. She didn't even feel an ounce of uncertainty over having lied to Azula to get him there. June had every intention of being long gone before the Princess discovered that particular detail.

Bristling over Azula's latest order, Long Feng countered brusquely, "Does it matter? I'm asking the questions here. Let's not make this anymore complicated than it needs to be. Just tell me what I want to know."

"And what is it that you want to know?"

"You're going to give me the location of the other shirshus," he informed her coldly.

"Actually, I'm going to give you something else entirely," June concluded, abruptly standing to attention, whip at the ready.

Long Feng's haughty imperialism was replaced with surprised alarm a split second later when her whip suddenly uncoiled and lashed dangerously close. She would have likely taken off his ear if he hadn't ducked out of the way, narrowly missing her strike. He scowled at her. "I beg your pardon?" he huffed in affront. "How dare you? What is the meaning of this?"

"Oh, you'll be begging for a lot more than my 'pardon' by the time I'm done with you," June warned him, snapping her whip again…however, this time Long Feng was ready for her. A shield of rock blocked the tip of her whip from making scarring contact with his face. "Guard! Guard!" he called out through the small opening at the top of her cell door. "This prisoner is free! _Guard!_" At the very far end of the corridor, Long Feng could see the edge of the guard's black robes, but the man did not respond to his cries.

"Call for the guards all you want," June invited with a curling sneer. "There's no one coming for you. It's just you and me." Long Feng's eyes narrowed with the implication. "That's right," June laughed. "Azula said she'd gift wrap you for me and I must say she delivered."

"Azula…" Long Feng spat.

"She gave you up pretty easy," June informed him. "She's a psychopath, but she has my gratitude. I plan to make you suffer just the way you made Nyla suffered! You'll be gasping for _your_ last breath."

In no shape for a physical confrontation, Long Feng made a lunge for the door, only to yank back his hand a second later when June's whip licked across the back of it. He growled in fury, but made no move to attack her. Instead, he tried to appeal to her reasoning side. "You must know that I never intended to harm your animal," he told her. "Her death was an unfortunate accident."

"Unfortunately for you, yours won't be!"

He barely had time to react before she lunged at him again, her whip lashing and retreating in a chilling, twisting arc. Though he tried to slow down her flicking assaults with a barrage of rock missiles, she proved agile and quick, dodging most of his attacks and disintegrating the rest with her whip. Long Feng's injuries made his bending jerky and formulaic. Without the fluid use of his arms and wrists, his reaction time was slowed and his counterattacks lacked considerable power.

Consequently, most of Long Feng's blows were defensive. He concentrated on fending off her advancing attacks and preventing further injury to himself. The two combatants circled the tiny four corners of the cell, their eyes locked in a wary, antagonistic stare. Long Feng watched June closely, hoping her expression would tip off her next move before she made it. He knew when he struck he would have to make his strike count. He would need to be deadly and precise. Nothing less would slow her down.

She charged him with a roundhouse kick at the precise moment he produced a rock dagger from the sleeve of his robe. As her foot made blinding contact with his head, Long Feng drove his weapon deep into her side. June stumbled back with a pained gasp, before removing the earthen knife from her flesh and tossing it away. "You're going to pay for that," she warned Long Feng, flicking her whip anew. Her dark eyes burned with hatred.

Long Feng made another dive for the door but the coil of her whip caught him around the ankles. He was yanked off his feet with such stunning force that, when he made impact with the ground, he could feel one of his broken ribs puncture his lungs. Shaking with pain, Long Feng flipped onto his back.

"I…I don't want to fight you," he gasped as June came to stand over him.

"What a coincidence," she murmured, stooping low to scoop up the rock dagger she'd discarded earlier, "because I don't want to _fight_ you either." She started to bring it down when a commotion outside her cell caught her attention and halted her intention.

****

They diverged into three groups, benders paired with non-benders, taking the incoming Dai Li in waves. Mai headed off the attack. As the Dai Li stormed forward, she charged to meet them and sent forth a hail of arrows from the sleeve of her dressing gown, forcing them to retreat and throw up a defensive cover. Katara then washed in a wave of water, freezing them in place before she and the others ran to meet the second wave. Meanwhile, Zuko gaped at Mai in dumbfounded shock, his expression laced with blatant admiration.

"But…but you're in nothing but a dressing robe," he pointed out in stammered amazement. "Where can you possibly keep those things?"

Her lips curved in a rare smile that was saved especially for him. "A girl has her secrets," she answered cryptically.

Zuko grinned at her, clearly intrigued by those "secrets." "I don't know whether I should be really scared right now or really turned on," he told her breathlessly. The look on his face, however, made it clear that he was leaning towards the latter.

Mai smirked at him as the enemy regrouped and revitalized their attacks. "Later," she promised before diving out of the way of an incoming rock fist.

The flexing mounds of earth came at them with lightning speed, some disintegrated by Mai's arrows and others by Zuko's fire blasts. When one grabbed the lapels of Mai's gown and yanked her forward, Zuko responded with a rain of fire that forced a retreat from the controlling Dai Li. Tongues of fire licked at the makeshift battlefield, casting the combatants in their flickering orange glow. Mai and Zuko split off from each other to flank the enemy as their friends concentrated on the center.

With a shower of arrows, Mai forced them back into Zuko's line of fire, while deftly dodging the earth spikes and boulder counterattacks. When they were within range, Zuko twisted out an exploding ring of fire that knocked the agents back and into the lake beyond. The second they made contact with the water, Katara froze over the surface of the lake to lock them in place. Mai lifted her shoulders in an unimpressed shrug and grunted, "Hmm…showoffs."

Sokka watched the awesome displays of bending with envious eyes. Even Suki did her part with a series of acrobatic flips and contortions that knocked more than a few Dai Li agents off their feet. There was little else Sokka could do other than picking off Toph's leavings and giving them one, final shove into the lake, which Katara unfroze and refroze at will in between beating her own attackers into submission with the coil and flash of her water-whip. Sokka dodged and ducked as earth rose and fell around him, flipping and rolling as the ground extended and retracted and kicked up a heavy cloud of dust.

"I need my boomerang," he complained to Toph over the melee. "I feel naked without it!"

While the others momentarily preoccupied their enemies, Toph paused to quickly scoop up a mound of earth and fashion out several earthen boomerangs for Sokka. She tossed them at him with a wide smile. "There you go! Have a ball!" she said. "But be forewarned…they might not come back."

Overwhelmed, Sokka stared down at the rock boomerangs in his hands before lifting his eyes to regard Toph with an expression of worshipful adulation. "Have I told you lately that I love you, woman?"

Toph grinned at him. "Eh…but I'm not adverse to more adoration," she told him.

He tossed one experimentally, yipping aloud when it hit its target, knocked the Dai Li out cold _and_ came back. Sokka jumped up and caught it with a wide smile. "You rule, lady!"

She responded with a mock salute. "No problem," she said before plunging back into the thick of battle.

"Now that's what Sokka's talking about," he murmured, holding up the earthen fashioned boomerangs for closer inspection. "Let's see what else these babies can do." He let another fly, watching closely as it arced through the air in a frenetic, yet surprisingly accurate spin. Seconds later it made contact with the back of a Dai Li agent's head. This one, however, did not return. Instead, it fragmented against the brim of the man's hat. The Dai Li took a step, staggered and then slumped to the ground unconscious. Sokka crowed his satisfaction. "Yep. That'll do it."

"That's my man," Suki laughed as she took advantage of the imbalance Katara's icy ground cover caused advancing Dai Li, knocking them into the waiting lake with a series of graceful kicks and punches. "He's nothing without his boomerang!"

In short order, they cleared away the first wave of agents. However, before they could pat themselves on the back for a job well done, more swarmed from the entrance. The agents separated themselves into two groups. The first glided forward for attack while the second formed a defensive, fortified wall around the entrance in the obvious attempt to keep the gang from gaining entrance.

"Still think they're not hiding anything?" Sokka queried as he and Zuko deftly dodged the intermittent earth spikes that speared up from the ground.

Zuko whipped up a protective ring of fire around them to shield them from incoming attack. "Okay, so I was wrong!"

Sokka flashed him a smile before plunging ahead, ready for battle. "That's okay. I just needed to hear you say it."

****

Aang instinctively bended himself back into the wall as a troop of agents hastily rushed past. As they did he caught rough snippets of their internal exchange. "…an attack…secure the perimeters…let the Avatar escape…" Several more groups followed the first one. Aang held his breath until they had passed altogether. When they were gone, he emerged from the wall, infused with renewed determination to find Appa and escape. He recognized he was operating on borrowed time now, as they were aware that he was missing and were looking for him.

Moving as quickly as he was able, Aang rounded the corner in steady pursuit of Appa's bellows, so intent on his goal that he didn't realize he was walking into another troop of Dai Li agents until he was right up on them. As a result, he had no time to bend himself out of sight and his efforts to glide past them inconspicuously were met without success.

"You there!" one called out to him as he scooted past them. "Come with us! We're needed above ground! The compound is under attack!"

"Sorry…I can't do that," Aang hedged, careful to keep his head low as he backed away. "I've had too much to drink to tonight," he explained lamely, staving off the man's steady advance. "But there was a group ahead of me that I'm sure would be more than happy to help. Good luck with that."

He started to pivot on his heel when the agent growled impatiently, "This is no time for games! Fall in!"

"Um, no thank you," Aang responded politely. "I wouldn't want to slow you down or anything. I really wish I could help, but can't…really can't…"

Unsurprisingly, however, that excuse did not go over a second time. The foremost Dai Li studied Aang with speculative eyes that were narrowed with outright suspicion. In a flash of movement he caught a glimpse of Aang's tattooed hands beneath the billowing sleeves of his robes. It was enough. "That's the Avatar!" the Dai Li accused sharply. "Seize him!"

When Aang turned to flee, he found himself locked at the ankles in earth. He quickly bended himself free, but not quick enough to escape the Dai Li's advance. They rushed him, only to be blown back by an awesome hurricane force gale that actually shook the very foundation of the underground labyrinth. The strike snapped them back into the adjacent wall with a bone jarring thud. Some were left unconscious in the aftermath. Others were merely stunned.

For Aang, however, the display of power taxed his already limited strength and he could do little more than slump against a nearby wall to catch his breath as those in the latter group began to recover. Through sheer force of will, Aang gathered his composure for fight. He was quite determined that he would die before he let them take him back to that dark hole again. That steely thought taking root in his heart, Aang stubbornly assumed a battle stance and prepared to take on all comers.

However, when the time came, he didn't have to lift a finger. Before he could react to the earthen shackles thrown his way, the coiling tip of June's whip suddenly lashed out from the adjoining corridor, shattering them mid-air. She flashed him a cheeky smile as she ran over to flank his side. "Need some help, kid?"

Aang smiled back, his relief over seeing her palpable. "Has anyone ever told you that you have really excellent timing?"

****

"Now what?" Azula demanded impatiently as JianJun slipped inside her private quarters for the second time that evening. However, she wasn't relaxing as she had been the first time, but packing up the few belongings she had there. From the expression on his face, Azula could tell that he did not have good news for her.

"The Avatar has escaped," he whispered cautiously.

"Please tell me you're joking," came Azula's dispassionate response.

"In his weakened state he can't have gotten far," JianJun reasoned. "Don't worry. I'll find him."

"There's no time," Azula snapped. "I'm to rendezvous with the Earth Kingdom generals in a few days. I can't run the risk of being captured now. We'll have to leave the Avatar behind."

"But…but what about our plans?" JianJun stammered.

"Plans change," Azula said. "This isn't exactly how I wanted it, but it doesn't have to be a total loss."

"Princess?" JianJun queried in confusion.

"I seriously doubt that the Avatar has escaped outside the walls," Azula considered. "He'd never leave his precious bison behind. In the meantime, my brother wants inside. I say we give him what he wants." JianJun's eyes widened in speechless shock at the decision. He knew better than to question her motives and doing so became a moot point with her next words anyway. "Once he's inside, seal off the main exit and collapse the place," she finished coldly. "You and I can escape out the secret exit."

"But…but Princess," JianJun stuttered in protest, "…what about my agents? Not all of them will have enough time to take cover and prepare. Won't they perish as well?"

"A worthy sacrifice if it vanquishes our enemies, wouldn't you agree?" Azula queried in a glacial tone. When he looked horrified by the suggestion, she blew out a disgusted sigh. "Oh please, stop wringing your hands. Your Dai Li are nothing if not versatile and resilient. I'm certain they can take care of themselves. We need the diversion so that we have ample time to make our escape."

JianJun hesitated, visibly appalled by the suggestion and clearly torn. "Princess, is this really wise?" he wondered. "If we lose the Avatar now, then everything could change."

"Nothing will change!" Azula declared brusquely. "You said it yourself. The Avatar is weak and confused. He doesn't trust Zuko and he doesn't trust himself. So what if they rescue him? He'll be of no use to them and, by the time he is, it won't matter any longer. We still have the advantage, JianJun…_if_ we move quickly. Collapse the tunnels."

"This just seems like such a drastic action and very uncertain…" he considered cautiously. "There might still be some time to reacquire the Avatar if—,"

"Shh," Azula interrupted softly, pressing a finger to his lips. She wisely recognized that threats would only worsen his conflict so she shrewdly switched her tactics to cajolery. "Everything we've worked for hinges on this, JianJun," she whispered. "We're poised on the precipice of victory…do you really want to throw it all away now?" She strode forward and placed her hand against his chest in a rare gesture of affection, staring up at him with soft, imploring eyes. "Give the order, JianJun…" she raised up on her toes to brush a kiss across his lips, "…for me."

As expected, JianJun yielded to her siren song, and inclined his head in a tolerant nod. "As you wish…Princess."

****

They were woefully outnumbered. June was injured and it required all the strength Aang had to remain upright. He didn't have the reserves to fight off half a dozen earthbenders too.

Calculating the odds and finding they were not in his favor; Aang grabbed June around her waist and took the path of least resistance. He earthbended them through several walls, in and out and up and down until they lost their pursuers. In spite of his fatigue and weariness, Aang executed his bending with surprising fluidity. In those frantic few moments, his body infused with a surge of adrenaline as he was driven by the intrinsic need to survive.

They morphed in and out of the walls, expertly missing the Dai Li who continued to chase them. When they emerged for the last time, in a completely different location, they were both gasping for breath. Their lungs were practically starved for oxygen. Despite that, Aang barely gave either of them time to recover before he was off again, running in the direction from which they'd just escaped.

"Whoa now, hold on a minute!" she protested, dragging to a stop behind him. "Didn't we just come from there? I'm pretty sure certain death awaits us in that direction."

"We have to go back. They have Appa and Nyla," Aang reminded her. "I'm not leaving without him."

"They have _Appa_," June corrected in a tightly controlled tone. "Nyla is dead. There's nothing for me to go back for."

"Oh…oh…" Aang said, feeling sorry and strangely relieved all at once. He wasn't glad that Nyla was dead, but knowing she had been the source of his misery for some time now left him feeling confused and conflicted. The realization filled him with guilt. "I didn't know. I'm sorry." June said nothing, but the riotous emotion in her eyes was evident nonetheless. "Look, you don't have to go with me," he told her. "Get out of here. I can get Appa on my own."

"Yeah, sure you can!" she snorted. "You can barely stand up! You won't last two minutes without me. Besides, Zuko would never forgive me if I let something happen to you, so… You're stuck with me, kid."

Aang favored her with a wan smile of gratitude. "Thanks, June."

"It will probably go a lot faster if you have me with you anyway," she concluded.

"How's that?" Aang asked.

"Because…I have a pretty good idea where they're keeping Appa."

****

The battle above ground took an inexplicable turn when the Dai Li suddenly began retreating. One moment they were charging and the next moment…nothing. After retracting the wall surrounding the entrance, the ones not frozen in the lake water fled down the hatch and out of sight. The impromptu battlefield, which had been alive with sound and movement seconds earlier, was left eerily still and quiet. The gang stared after them with befuddled frowns before turning those same confused looks on each other.

"Well, that was unprecedented," Sokka remarked sardonically. "And I was just hitting my stride too." He pouted a little. "I didn't even get to use my last boomerang."

"I'm really starting to believe that victory _is_ boring," Mai commented laconically.

"Yeah…" Toph mumbled in staggered agreement. "What just happened?"

"Who cares? We can finally get inside!" Katara cried, already lowering herself down into the open hatch. "Let's find Aang!" When they reached the bottom of the cavern they found that the corridors were deserted as well. Undeterred by the strange finding, Katara turned to Toph and demanded, "Which way?"

Toph pointed towards the adjacent hallway. "There are a lot of large rooms in that direction," she said. "Some of them are probably big enough to hold Appa. We should start there."

Katara inclined her head in a fierce nod. "Let's go then."

****

Aang and June rounded the corner for Appa's cell and suddenly found themselves waist deep in water as it churned down the corridor with swirling force, nearly knocking them both off their feet. Reacting quickly, Aang earthbended them to higher ground before turning his attention to the massive fissures in the earthen walls where the water poured inside. The waves continued to rise but at a much slower rate than before. Because they were elevated on higher ground, Aang and June were brought into closer contact with the cave ceiling and were forced to crouch down low in order to advance.

"I'm assuming this is not good," June remarked matter-of-factly as they crawled along.

"Nope," Aang confirmed. "They're flooding the place. No wonder we had such an easy time finding Appa. Everyone is getting out of here!"

"Hmm…" June considered calmly, as if she were not surrounded by a rising sea of water, "…these people really want you dead, don't they?"

"It would appear that way," he confirmed as he slowly lowered them towards the ground and back into the pitching waters below.

Grabbing hold of June's hand, Aang bended back the crashing tide of water with his free hand, steadily making his way towards Appa's cell. The door had been left wide open and water was already beginning to fill the room. Appa was in the center of the cell, chained to the wall by his ankles. When he saw Aang he let out a low, relieved bellow, his brown eyes lighting with poignant emotion. Aang stumbled forward, impervious to the water that poured in, and hugged the massive animal around his snout, tenderly burying his face in Appa's fur. "I missed you too, buddy," he mumbled in respite. "We really need to stop doing this." Appa grunted his heartfelt agreement.

"I don't mean to break up your tender moment or anything," June interrupted irreverently, "but I'm kind of chest deep in water at the moment. You think we can get this show on the road?"

Using up his last reserves of strength Aang bended the water back against the walls of the cell and froze the waves in place. With his line of sight cleared, he then turned his attention to the chains around Appa's ankles before the fresh water flowing in covered them again. It was only after he had broken Appa free of the last chain and discovered his staff floating aimlessly in the flowing water that Aang's energy suddenly evaporated. As he made a weak grab for his staff, the room took a sudden, abrupt tilt. His knees buckled and Aang slumped into the swiftly flowing current with an unceremonious plop.

June sloshed forward through rushing rapids as Appa fished out his master. "You've got to be kidding me!" she yelled at him over the cacophonic waves. "You choose _now_ of all times to pass out?" Still grumbling under her breath over his lousy timing, June grabbed hold of Aang's arm and looped it around her shoulder. She flicked Appa with a doleful look. "I hope you have a backup plan."

By the time she managed to pull Aang up onto Appa's bare back the water was already as high as the animal's legs. Alarmed, June smacked Aang several times across the cheeks in an effort to revive him. "Hey…hey, kid!" she coaxed. "Hey, Avatar…could you please wake up and keep us from dying? Hello? Hello? Is any of this getting through?"

Deciding to take matters into her own hands, June climbed up on Appa's head with the full intention of getting them out of there herself when the waters suddenly began to roll back from the exit. She glanced up just as Katara and the others filled the doorway. "It's about time!" June cried. "You want to offer a little help?"

"Where's Aang?" Katara demanded anxiously. She didn't even wait for an answer, but was already rushing forward to climb up Appa's flank. "Please, tell me he's with you!"

"Yeah…he's with me," June assured her, "Just out cold. If you don't want it to be more than that, you might want to get to work with that bending magic and get us out of here!"

Katara was in the process of tenderly gathering Aang's unconscious form in her arms and burying her face in his throat with grateful tears when, hot on the heels of June's dire warning a fierce, rolling tide of churning lake water could be heard barreling through the corridor beyond. "Toph! Get us out of here now!" Katara cried frantically.

As the waves suddenly came breaking through the massive fissures created in the surrounding walls, Toph quickly earthbended them all onto a shelf of rock, elevating them through the rolling tides of rushing water. The sound of crumbling rock as it was pulverized by tons of lake water was deafening in their ears. They broke the surface of the lake mere seconds before the underground cavern beneath was engulfed.

In the heart pounding aftermath, they were left clinging to each other, water-logged, winded and physically wasted on a tiny island, surrounded by dark, pitching water and floating chunks of ice.


	18. Chapter Seventeen

**A/N: Mature content ahead.**

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen**

The tender sweep of cloth across his bruised flesh compelled Aang to finally open his eyes. Katara's smiling features filled his line of vision. Aang sighed in contentment. "Am I dreaming?" he wondered hoarsely, half-convinced that he was. He wanted to reach out and touch her face, but he was afraid that if he tried he'd be unable to do so.

Almost as if she sensed his unspoken worry, Katara gently gathered up his hand and brought it against her cheek. He feathered his fingers against her smooth skin, marveling over how amazingly warm and soft and _real_ she felt. "Do I feel like a dream to you?" she asked him.

Aang sighed again, this time a serrated expulsion of pure emotion. "You feel wonderful." He managed a rough swallow and said, "I've missed you a lot."

A teary smile wobbled on Katara's lips. "Not half as much as I've missed you," she replied gruffly. "Welcome back."

"Good to be back."

It was then that Aang gradually became aware of his other surroundings beyond Katara. They were in stark contrast with the dank gloominess of the box. High vaulted ceilings, gilded wall paneling, a large, opulent fireplace, ornate rugs and drapery trimmed with braided gold thread and expansive windows to let in plenty of light. After spending so much time in darkness, Aang was almost afraid to believe his own eyes. He turned a questioning glance towards Katara, clearly confused over how he'd come to be there and where he was exactly.

"You're in Kuei's palace," she explained. "We brought you back here a few hours ago."

"A few hours?" he questioned fuzzily.

"You've been sleeping this whole time."

He glanced around the room again, noting that they were alone. "Where is everyone?"

"In bed," Katara replied. "You wouldn't believe how long this night has been."

"Why aren't you in bed?" Aang wondered.

Katara favored him with an ironic look. "Why do you think?"

He closed his eyes, trying desperately to recall the details of his rescue, but his last distinct memory before waking up with her was being chased through endless tunnels and then…nothing. However, given how precarious his circumstances had been, it wasn't difficult to determine what had occurred, especially when he considered that he was no longer in that wooden prison Azula had fashioned for him. Aang favored Katara with a grateful smile.

"You saved me…" he concluded in a small sigh. "Again."

His conclusion, however, was met with a self-conscious laugh from Katara. "Technically, I didn't," she corrected. "That would be June and Toph. June kept you from drowning and well Toph…she saved us all."

"June?"

"She left a little while after we arrived back at the palace," Katara explained. "She told us what happened to Nyla. I guess she needed some time to herself."

"Oh…" Aang breathed sorrowfully.

"Do you remember?" Katara prodded him.

"Bits and pieces…" he said tiredly. "I _do_ know you found me…protected me… Can I thank you for that?"

Her smile widened. "First of all, no thanks required. I've been protecting you since I was fourteen years old. I've come to think of it as my personal mission." Aang laughed at her phrasing. "And second of all…I can't take the credit for finding you either," she clarified. "You're the one who told me where you were. I just followed the clues." Aang fixed her with a blank frown, obviously unable to recall such a conversation at all. "You don't remember that either, do you?" she queried in surprise.

"There are a lot of things I don't remember, Katara," Aang mumbled. "I'm feeling a little confused about everything…" His frown deepened as a new realization slowly dawned on him. Although, there was a bed a few feet away, for some unfathomable reason he was lying on the floor. And, in addition to that curious fact, he didn't have on a stitch of clothing. "Um, Katara? Why am I naked? Please tell me you didn't find me this way!"

Katara giggled at his horrified expression. "No, we didn't find you this way," she explained sheepishly. "I was actually about to give you a bath. You kind of need one."

Aang considered that assertion with pursed lips. "Do I?"

"Yeah," she confirmed, crinkling her nose for emphasis. "You smell."

Though she had been teasing when informing him of that, Aang still felt embarrassed heat creep up his neck. "Great."

"Aang, it's understandable given where you've spent the last month," Katara reasoned in a matter-of-fact tone. "I don't guess Azula was all that big on hygiene. If it makes you feel better, Sokka's sleeping bag has smelled a lot worse."

He hardly heard the remainder of her teasing statement because he was too busy reeling over the first half of it. He rolled himself upright with a disbelieving yelp. "A month?" Aang balked in disbelief. "Are you telling me I've been missing for _a month_?"

"Calm down," Katara admonished softly, easing him back down against the floor despite his vehement protests. "Yes…yes…" she confirmed. "You've been missing for nearly a month, but I don't want you to freak out about it, okay?" The look on his face said that he was far past "freak out," however, and in full fledged meltdown mode. "Relax," she insisted firmly. "You're still very weak. Right now, you need to concentrate on getting stronger. We'll sort the rest out later."

"What's the rest?" he persisted stubbornly. "Do I even want to know?"

"Aang," Katara sighed in a warning tone. "I mean it. I'm not going to discuss it with you. For now you should rest and that's it."

"Okay, fine…whatever," he relented, easing back down against the floor with a sullen pout.

However, in spite of his annoyance, it became readily apparent that Katara's advice to him had been sage. Aang was clearly exhausted. Just that small bit of excitement had taxed him considerably. Katara sighed and watched him as he struggled valiantly to keep his eyes open.

"Would you rather have your bath later?" she asked gently. "You seem really tired."

"I don't want to go to sleep," he protested. When she started to argue, he explained, "I'm not being stubborn, Katara. I'm just afraid if I close my eyes, you'll disappear."

She softened at his candid response and stroked a caressing hand over his cheek. "That won't happen."

"But it has before," Aang insisted. "Over and over. You would be with me one moment and when I opened my eyes again you would be gone. I don't want that to happen again. I don't want to close my eyes."

"Aang, those were dreams," Katara reasoned gently.

"How do I know this isn't a dream too?" Aang countered sadly. "I can see you and feel you and…and I still don't know. I don't want to take the chance."

The anguished pleading in his eyes was her undoing. She couldn't imagine what it felt like to be unable to trust her own mind. Not for the first time, Katara found herself obsessing over exactly what Azula had done to him and if any of the damage was permanent. "Okay," she relented in a hoarse whisper. "You don't have to close your eyes. You don't have to do anything you don't want to, Aang."

"Thank you, Katara," he sighed softly.

"Do you still want the bath?" she asked again.

"Well, you said I needed it, right?" Aang considered pensively.

Her lips twitched with laughter. "Right."

"And you're still going to give it to me, right?" he prodded further. He blinked at her innocently. "I'm very, very weak, you know."

Katara struggled not to laugh outright at his transparent reasoning. "Yes," she murmured, a faint blush staining her cheeks, "I'm still going to give it to you."

"Then yes," Aang replied with an intensely penetrating stare, "I want it. I just have one request before you scrub me down like a helpless, newborn baby…"

"What is it?" Katara choked out over a bubble of laughter.

"I'd like to brush my teeth and I need a mint leaf," he said. He swirled his tongue around the interior of his mouth. "Make that several mint leaves," he amended wryly.

Katara offered him a mock bow. "As you wish, Avatar Aang."

After Aang had brushed his teeth to a highly polished gleam and chewed the mint leaves into liquid, he finally allowed Katara to assist him to his feet. As she helped him over to the marble tub in the center of the room, she tried not to be too aware of how much weight he'd lost since she saw him last. His body felt painfully frail in her arms and it reminded her strongly of how fragile he'd been in the weeks following Azula's lightning strike. If she had to guess, she'd estimate he'd lost at least a good fifteen pounds.

She wondered vaguely what a person would have to endure to lose that much weight in a matter of weeks. The places her mind took her weren't particularly heartening, especially when she considered the blue black bruises that marred Aang's neck, shoulders, wrists and ankles. In fact, despite her best intentions, Katara could feel her hatred for Azula boil over with feral intensity. She practically seethed with it.

However, she carefully masked the rage gathering within her behind a soft smile as Aang sank into the waist deep water with a gratified sigh. "You cannot imagine how good this feels," he groaned.

"Is the water warm enough for you?" she asked him anxiously.

Aang leaned his head back against the edge of the tub, his eyes half-mast with contentment. "It's perfect, Katara."

Encouraged by his blissful sighs and utterly relaxed features, Katara soaped a washcloth to a generous lather and began bathing him. She began with his face, gently scrubbing away the smudged remnants of dirt from his ears and eyes and nose and cheeks. When she began soaping the new growth of hair along his cheeks and chin, she remarked in a thoughtful tone, "You look different with a beard." She paused for a moment, cocking her head to one side as she surveyed him with an aesthetic stare. "I don't know how I feel about it."

"I do," Aang laughed. "It has to go. I can't tell you how crazy it made me when it started to grow. It itched like mad, but I couldn't scratch it." He cringed at the memory. "Now _that_ was torture!"

He had meant for the words to be lighthearted and teasing, but rather than making Katara laugh, they caused her eyes to flicker with sorrow and anguish instead. "Is…is that what happened?" she stammered gruffly. "Did Azula torture you, Aang?"

"Katara, don't think about it. I'm okay now…" He trailed off into silence, realizing the reassurance wasn't going to carry much weight with her, especially when she could see with her own eyes the devastating effects his captivity had wrought on him. He closed his eyes briefly with a resolved sigh. "Listen…" he began again. "I don't think it's something we should talk about, Katara. It happened and now it's over."

"Maybe for you," she mumbled, resuming her ministrations but with a much brisker touch than before. "But I won't forget it for a very long time."

Aang caught her hand as she scrubbed her way to his chest, ducking his head low so that he could glimpse her expression through the swaying curtain of her hair. "Are you angry?" he asked her timidly.

"Yes!" she fired fiercely, only to contradict herself one second later by amending, "No!" She tossed the washcloth into the soapy water and leaned back from him with a miserable sigh. "Oh, I don't know what I feel right now," she muttered. "I'm so full of rage, I can't see straight."

"At me?"

"Not you," Katara reassured him in a billowing sigh. "At Azula…at myself…"

"Why yourself?" Aang wondered. "You didn't do anything."

"I should have gone with you," she replied in a strangled whisper. "I knew it that morning when I woke up without you. I regretted it even before I knew what had happened to you and now I know why. I feel like…it's my fault that you were taken."

"That's ridiculous," Aang told her flatly.

"If I had been there, things would have been different," she argued. "Maybe you never would have been captured at all. Maybe these last horrible weeks wouldn't have happened."

"Or maybe we _both_ would have been taken," Aang countered, "and then the situation would have _really_ sucked."

"How can you be so flippant about this, Aang?" Katara cried softly. "Azula could have killed you! She actually _did_ try to kill you! I can't understand how you don't hate her as much as I do."

"Katara, you have to let it go."

"Have you?" she demanded sharply. "Have you let it go, Aang? Can you honestly sit there and tell me that you're over it?"

"I'm not saying that we should pretend that nothing happened," Aang sighed. "And I'm not saying I'm going to forget what Azula did to me. I'll probably never forget it. But I don't see the point of dwelling on it. Nothing we do will change what's happened. We can either stew in our anger or move on from it."

"I'd rather stew, thank you very much," Katara grumbled. "Azula has to pay for what she's done this time. She _will_ pay." The absolute conviction with which she made that statement sent a chill of apprehension trembling down Aang's spine. He fixed her with an unblinking stare filled with anxiety. Belatedly, Katara recognized that she was only adding to his stress, rather than relieving it.

"I'm sorry," she sighed in chagrin. "I'm a little tense. I've had a lot of emotion bottled up these last few weeks."

Her acknowledgment that she might have gotten a bit carried away relaxed Aang considerably. "You're tense? I couldn't tell," he teased.

Katara splashed him with the sudsy water, her lips pursed in a mock pout. "Well, at least one of us still has our sense of humor," she said.

"What do you mean _one_ of us? You never _had_ a sense of humor, Katara."

She reached down into the water to pinch his thigh. "Oh, the jokes never end with you, do they?" Rather than laughing, Aang surprised her by suddenly cupping the back of her head and pulling her forward for a fervent kiss. Her soft giggles died down into even softer moans. She framed his face in her hands, feeling as if she couldn't kiss him deep enough or long enough. Because of that, when Aang finally pulled away with a breathless smile, the contact felt entirely too brief for Katara's liking. She regarded him with luminous eyes.

"Where did that come from?" she asked in a husky exhalation of breath.

"Your mouth was distracting me," Aang whispered. "I thought we should probably get that out of the way."

"Good thought," she whispered back. She leaned forward to steal a kiss of her own. What had been intended to be a fleeting gesture of affection gradually deepened into much more when Katara lingered against his mouth. They tangled in each other's arms, kissing like two people starved for it. In their pressing need to be closer, Katara found herself half leaned into the bathtub with him. They broke apart with a self-conscious laugh when Katara was soaked through as a result of their passionate exchange.

"You know…you can get in here with me…" he suggested, regarding her from beneath his lashes in an almost shy fashion, "…if you want. There's room enough."

"What a fantastic idea!" she exclaimed so eagerly that Aang's lips curved in a wide, self-satisfied smile. Her face brightening with a hot blush, Katara made a hasty attempt to justify her response. "It's not about _that_ at all! I'm…I'm just thinking of the angle! It would just be…_washing you_ would be…easier for me," she prevaricated, her blush deepening with Aang's knowing smile. "I wouldn't have to strain, that's all!" she concluded in a transparently dishonest tone. "I'm not like you, Aang! I don't have it on my mind all hours of the day!"

"Sure…if you say so," Aang indulged sweetly.

She growled at him before pushing to her feet to remove her nightgown. Aang watched with avid eyes as she peeled the diaphanous material from her shoulders and pushed it down past her hips. Seconds later, the linen was pooled at her feet, quickly followed by her undergarments. For a moment, she stood still beneath Aang's admiring gaze, basking in his greedy appraisal before climbing into the tub with him and carefully straddling his lap.

"You'll let me know if I hurt you…" she prompted him anxiously.

"I'm thinking that's not going to be a problem," he told her as her body settled into his. He groaned his pleasure over that and started to thread his fingers through the hair at her nape to pull her closer for the kiss they both wanted when a thought suddenly occurred to him. Aang bolted upright. "Wait a minute!"

Katara immediately tensed. "What? What?" she asked frenetically. "Did I hurt you? Should I move?"

He fixed her with a worried stare. "Where's Momo?"

"Momo?" Katara balked. She slapped a hand against his shoulder in pure exasperation, slumping with relief. "I thought I'd broken you or something! You scared me to death!"

"I'm sorry," Aang mumbled contritely. "It's just that…the last time I saw Momo, he was flying away…" He frowned for a moment, trying to retrieve the memory but finding it full of holes. "At least, I _think_ he was flying away…" he amended to himself. "I'm not sure. It's all kind of fuzzy for me."

"I guess he was flying away," Katara replied. "He came back a couple of days after you disappeared."

"So, he's okay then?" Aang concluded with a relieved breath.

"He has a broken leg, but his belly is full and he's being pampered all day and all night," Katara said wryly. "So, on the whole, yeah…he's okay. He's back at Zuko's palace."

"Good," Aang sighed, leaning back into the bathtub.

"Is there anything else before I begin again?" Katara solicited dryly. "I'd like to get you clean _without_ risking a heart attack, thank you very much."

Aang leaned back and spread his arms open in invitation. "By all means, Sifu…proceed." He lay there with a smile of pure satisfaction as Katara retrieved the soap and began washing his hair. His smile widened when he noted the wistful expression on her face as she worked up a frothy lather against his skull. "That's going to have to go too," he informed her drolly.

"What?"

"The hair," he clarified. "I'm not keeping it."

"Actually, that's not what I was thinking at all," she retorted with a cheeky smile as she turned her attention to his neck and arms and chest. "Shows what you know, Avatar."

"You're saying I'm wrong?" he challenged cockily.

"So very wrong," she retorted with equal cockiness. "I'm not going to say I dislike you with hair, because I don't, but… You don't look like yourself when you have it so, as much as I like it, I'm also pretty eager to see it gone and have _my_ Aang back."

He glided his hands up and down the sleek expanse of her back. "I'm pretty eager for that too…to be _your_ Aang again," he murmured. Smiling, Katara rewarded him with a tender kiss before refocusing her attention on bathing him. The task was difficult with Aang's insistent caresses and sweet nibbles, but somehow she managed to stay on task. Aang pouted his disappointment over her seemingly unbreakable concentration, finally conceding defeat and relaxing back into the water with a hefty sigh.

Trying not to squirm and laugh as she washed underneath his arms, he murmured, "Well, since you're determined to be all business…tell me what you were thinking about a moment ago."

Katara faltered a moment before continuing in her task. "I…I was just wondering what happened that day," she confessed in a stammer. "How did it happen? Were you taken by surprise? Did you face them head on? Were there too many for you to handle on your own?"

"Actually, I don't remember too much about it," Aang told her. "I think I was talking to Momo or…maybe I was drinking water…I'm not sure. I remember having the vague feeling that someone was watching me. What I _do_ know for sure is that when I opened my eyes again, Azula was there."

Digesting that piece of information, Katara beckoned him forward so that she could wash his back. Despite the intimacy of their positions, Katara carefully kept her ministrations brisk and efficient. She was determined not to let herself be too distracted by his nakedness, his proximity or his ragged groans of pleasure. Now that she had steered him into a serious discussion of what had occurred that day, she didn't want either of them to get sidetracked.

Katara assisted him up onto his knees so that she could reach his lower back and wash there. "Well, what's the last thing you remember clearly?" she asked him.

"You," he whispered into her throat, wrapping his arms around her and fitting her body closer to his. "I remember being inside you." Katara gasped in response. "We made love before I left, right?"

The washcloth dropped from her limp fingers and sloshed into the water. "R-Right," Katara stammered in confirmation.

He flashed her a languid smile. "Well, I definitely remember that."

With that single reply, all her good intentions scattered to the four winds. Her hands gradually stilled as he began placing nibbling kisses across the curve her shoulder. She groaned his name. "I meant the day you went missing…" she moaned in protest. "We were talking about that, Aang."

"So talk," he invited.

His lips descended lower, his tongue sweeping wetly over the curve of her breast. "You're distracting me," she told him.

Smiling, Aang pulled her completely into his lap, his hands roaming freely over her wet skin. "That's kind of the point," he replied.

"Aang, be serious," Katara admonished him. "This isn't the right time…"

He cupped her breast and nuzzled the beaded tip with his lips. "Why not?"

"Because you barely have enough energy to sit up right now," she considered in a soft breath, cupping his head to bring him closer despite her protests. "You definitely don't have the strength for _that_."

She felt his smile stretch against her collarbone and it provoked her own. "Katara, I _always_ have strength for that," he contradicted. "Trust me." Unfortunately, before he could demonstrate just how much "strength" he had, his stomach chose that moment to rumble loudly. Aang froze, his cheeks blooming with mortified color. Katara choked back a giggle. "Hungry, are you?" she teased.

"A little bit," Aang confessed sheepishly, relaxing back into the water with a muted slosh.

"Okay, no more distractions," Katara decided as she leaned over him to retrieve the washcloth. "I'm going to bathe you, shave you and feed you and then you are going to bed, sir. No arguments. No exceptions. No detours."

"As long as you're with me when I do," Aang wheedled shamelessly. "You'll be with me? And then we'll make love, right?" Rather than answering his question, Katara reached for a nearby pitcher of water and dumped it over his head to wash the soapy lather from his hair. Aang sputtered in response. "So I'm thinking that's a no, huh?" he pouted grumpily, but by the time she began washing him again they were both laughing.

The water had grown tepid by the time Katara finished shaving Aang's face and head, but he didn't bother using firebending to raise the temperature. For one, he knew that bath time was drawing to a conclusion and for two…he was simply too tired to do it. Despite his fierce determination not to, Aang found himself nodding off occasionally only to jerk back to wakefulness when his head lolled.

"I'm awake," he assured Katara drowsily.

"Right. Come on," Katara laughed, stepping out from the bathtub and tugging him with her. "You're too tired to sit here, much less eat a meal. Besides, we're getting all pruny. Let's get you into bed."

For efficiency's sake, Katara didn't bother drying him off but simply bended away the excess water from both their bodies and then ushered a drooping Aang towards the bed. He climbed between the sheets gratefully, not even bothering with pajamas at all. He closed his eyes almost the moment his head hit the pillow.

Katara started to turn away to retrieve a fresh nightgown when Aang suddenly reached out and snagged hold of her wrist. She turned back to find him regarding her with a surprisingly lucid stare. "Don't bother," he whispered, having correctly discerned her intentions. He threw back the sheets and scooted aside to make room for her. "Get in here."

Without protest, she smiled and eagerly stretched out beside him. They snuggled together, face to face, bodies flush and limbs tangled. "Still convinced I'm a dream?" Katara whispered as Aang continued to stare at her in near amazement.

"Half convinced," he acknowledged drowsily.

"What can I do to help _fully_ convince you?" she asked with a tender smile.

"Be here in the morning when I open my eyes," he said, pulling her closer so that he could nestle his face in the warmth of her throat.

Katara pressed a kiss to the crown of his head, gently nuzzling him there. She well understood his need to cling to her because she was inundated with the same need to cling to him as well. She didn't want to awaken tomorrow morning to find it had all been a dream either.

"I'll be here," she promised softly. "We both will."

With that gentle reassurance rumbling in his ears, Aang finally found the courage to fall asleep.


	19. Chapter Eighteen

**A/N: More Mature content ahead. It's at the beginning if you want to skip it. After that, it's back to T and shall remain thus.**

* * *

**Chapter Eighteen**

When he opened his eyes the next morning, she was still in his arms. Aang lay there quietly, lulled by the deep, even cadence of her gentle breathing, almost reluctant to move for the fear she might vanish entirely. With shaking fingers, he glided a light caress over her lower lip before trailing his hand lower to skim her throat. He traced the curve of her shoulder and skated his hand down the soft skin of her arm. She didn't disappear. He nuzzled kisses against her lips and nose, his heartbeat tripping a bit when she purred her approval and snuggled closer. And still she didn't disappear. His caresses grew bolder, more intimate and she responded to every coaxing stroke of his fingers.

Katara awakened to his touch in gradual stages, responding to Aang's sweet kisses even before she opened her eyes completely. By the time she was fully awake, she was cradling his head against her body, wrapping her arms and legs around him to bring him ever closer. Without words, she shifted onto her back, pulling him with her so that he settled against the warm grooves of her body in one, graceful motion. Aang reached down between their straining bodies to glance his fingers across her pulsing center, making certain that she was ready for him before he stretched inside her.

Their groans of satisfaction mingled as Aang entered her pervasive heat completely. He leaned his forehead against her shoulder, shuddering in ecstasy when she convulsed around him, clasping him tighter, pulling him deeper. They melded together, frenetic and fierce, consumed with the primal need to surge deep, to be filled up and made complete.

Sensing he wouldn't last much longer and unwilling to finish without Katara, Aang slipped his hand beneath Katara's pumping hips and cradled her closer. He held her steady against him so that he could spear deep and hit the spot he knew gave her the most pleasure. It took only a few thrusts before she was arching into him, her lips parted to release a low, jagged moan of pure gratification, her inner walls pulsating so violently that she provoked Aang's climax as well. He collapsed against her in a damp tangle of arms and legs, pressing breathy kisses against her slick throat as she drifted her fingers up and down the length of his back.

Several minutes later, Aang rolled over onto his side and took Katara with him so that he could spoon behind her. "Good morning," he murmured into her hair.

"It certainly is," Katara agreed with a contented sigh. "Did you sleep okay?"

"I woke up a few times," Aang said. "But then I saw you lying next to me and I was able to fall asleep again."

"Great…I'm glad I could have that effect on you," she replied drolly.

Aang laughed, dropping a kiss onto her shoulder. "You know I don't mean it that way."

She shifted in his arms so that they were face to face. "How do you mean it then?" she whispered.

"Just that being with you makes me very happy," he told her.

"Being with me, huh?" she echoed with a wide, satisfied smile. "Well, I suppose I don't blame you. I am quite intoxicating. Who can resist?"

He burst out laughing. "I meant being in your presence," he clarified expansively. "But I won't say I don't enjoy that part just as much."

"That makes two of us," Katara whispered affectionately. She nuzzled his chest before turning up a timid glance at him. "So now what? Do we talk…" she wondered in hanging thought, "…or do we do…_other_ things?"

"Well…I am _really_ hungry," he emphasized dramatically.

"Food," Katara sighed with a roll of her eyes. "Of course. You're likely starving by now, aren't you?" She sighed again. "I guess that's my cue." However, when she started to roll from the bed to fulfill his unspoken request, Aang caught her around the waist and hauled her back against him. "I thought you just said you were hungry," she laughed in exasperation.

"I am," he replied, rolling onto his back and tugging her along so that she straddled him. "But not for food." Katara braced her hands against his chest, positioning herself so that their upper bodies were perfectly aligned.

She stared down at him with sultry eyes full of anticipation and excitement. "Now what?" she asked again. Aang grinned at her and tangled his fingers in her hair, pulling her closer for his kiss.

An hour later they finally sat down to breakfast together, dining at t small table situated not far from their bedchamber window. Katara was hyper aware that there were important things she needed to discuss with Aang, but she was reluctant to open the conversation. She didn't want to burden him with the grim reality of what they were facing when he was already dealing with so much. He seemed so happy and content that she didn't want to shatter that. She couldn't shatter it…not yet.

Instead, she watched him as he put down an entire tray of fruit, a bowl of rice and several pieces of bread all without seemingly taking a breath in between. "Wow," Katara laughed. "I've never seen you eat that way. You act as if you haven't eaten in weeks."

"I haven't," Aang replied with a careless smile.

Katara's smile faltered the moment he voiced the words, however. She was only half teasing him, even despite his weight loss, because she couldn't imagine it had been literal weeks since he'd eaten. But then he went and confirmed that was _exactly_ what had happened. Katara could not laugh at that. "Are you saying Azula starved you?" she demanded, aghast.

"No. She offered me food," Aang explained with a shrug. "It just happened to be stuff she knew I wouldn't want to eat. It was a psychological game to her. I think it amused her to serve me things I found disgusting or inedible."

"That sounds cruel and heartless," Katara mumbled in disgust.

"Actually, it was an effective strategy," Aang considered. "She was trying to break my spirit, but she did it in such a manner where I was the one responsible for my own misery. It was kind of brilliant in a way. _She's_ brilliant."

Visibly taken aback by his tone and his words, Katara regarded him with a dumbfounded stare. "You…you sound almost as if you _admire_ her…" she remarked with quiet incredulity.

"Do I?" Aang replied noncommittally. "I certainly don't mean to. I was just explaining to you how she operated. That's all."

"Of course," Katara said, shaking off her unease. "I totally understand."

Aang suddenly released a broad yawn, shoving away his empty plate. "I think I'm going to go back to bed," he announced. "I'm starting to get tired again." He held out his hand to Katara. "Come with me?"

Katara placed her hand in his with a ready smile. "Sure."

****

Aang awoke some time later to the sound of whispered voices. His first real awareness was that Katara was not beside him in bed and that was what prompted him to open his eyes. Katara and Sokka were situated in the furthest corner of the room, apparently locked in an intense exchange. Aang lay perfectly still and listened to their conversation.

"…can't shield the truth form him forever," Sokka was saying. "The world needs him now, Katara!"

"Have you looked at him, Sokka!" Katara hissed irately. "Really, take a long, hard look! Does he seem like he's in any shape to go off fighting other people's battles? The world might need him, but he needs rest!"

"Maybe you should ask Aang how he feels about that!" Sokka challenged.

"I'm doing what's best for him," Katara insisted. "All I'm asking for is a few days…"

"Katara, the longer you wait," Sokka warned her, "the worse things are going to get. Do you really want that on your conscience?"

Aang struggled to follow the line of their conversation, feeling the discussion was more cryptic than anything else and purposely designed to leave him out of the loop. "That's exactly it, you know." Aang jerked a glance towards the unexpected commentator, scrambling upright when he found Azula perched nonchalantly on the edge of his bed. He tried to jump from the bed to resume a defensive stance, but his limbs were suddenly uncooperative. Aang pinned Azula with a sharpened glare.

"What did you do to me?" he demanded furiously. She answered with a noncommittal shrug. He threw a desperate look towards Sokka and Katara, yelling for their assistance but to no avail. They seemed not to hear him. In the meantime, Azula smirked at him in her usual, self-satisfied way.

"You're surprised to see me, aren't you, Avatar?" she asked. "Haven't you figured it out by now? You will never be separated from me…_ever_."

Her certainty as well as the maniacal gleam in her eye when she made that statement had Aang crying out with a dismayed grimace, "You're nuts!"

"People say that all the time," she remarked thoughtfully. "I'm starting to develop a complex."

"Katara! Sokka!" Aang shouted again, his frantic gaze bouncing between them and Azula once more. Yet again, they seemed not to hear him. Worse yet, they seemed to not be aware of anything in his particular direction as they continued their conversation in absolute unawareness. Aang snarled at Azula, despite the fear unfurling in his chest. "You're not really here," he told her. "I know you're not. You're in my head."

"That's right," she confirmed with a wide smile. "You're finally seeing the big picture. I'm in your head and I'm not going anywhere."

Aang screwed his eyes shut. "You're not real…you're not real…" he mumbled over and over.

"Are you sure?" Azula needled. "How do you know? Maybe I am real and those two," she pointed a finger over towards Sokka and Katara, "are the ones that aren't."

He raked her with a hateful look. "Stop trying to trick me! I'm sick of your games!"

Azula arched a challenging brow. "It's not a game," she whispered. "This is how it's going to be for a long, long time, Avatar. Get used to it." As soon as she made that ominous pronouncement, Aang's surroundings began to slowly peel away, as if nothing more than a façade concealing where he truly was. Once again he was closed in by four walls, bound and gagged and pitched in darkness. The moment felt real and frightening because he could smell the pungent aroma of mold around him, could, once again, detect the lack of sensation in his arms and legs. He felt hopeless and beaten and lost. He felt alone.

Satisfied with his unspoken surrender, Azula knelt down before him and firmly grasped his chin, forcing his gaze to hers. "Don't you ever forget, Avatar…I own you now. You'll never escape me. You'll never be free." She tapped his forehead with her index finger, her tone almost seductive when she said, "I'm in here now…and I always will be. Remember that," she concluded in breathy satisfaction. "Always remember…"

Aang bolted upright with a sudden gasp, his heart thumping madly behind his ribs, his breath wheezing in his chest. In a blind panic, he flexed his hands and arms, just to reassure himself that it had all been a dream. He was still shaking uncontrollably when Katara, jarred awake by his sudden movement, pushed upright as and rested her chin against his bare shoulder. "What's wrong, Aang?" she asked him. "Did you have a bad dream?"

"I don't know…" he mumbled. "I don't know what it was."

"You're shaking all over," Katara observed with a concerned frown. "Are you okay?" He suddenly lurched around to grip her tight, unable to make the words of explanation come. Instead, he merely held her like he thought she might vanish at any given moment. "I'm here," she reassured him, returning his tight embrace. "I'm not going anywhere, Aang."

Her words seemed to provide him with enough clarity and composure to loosen his grip and he gradually leaned back to regard her with confused eyes. "What's the last thing you and I talked about?" he asked her, frowning.

"We had breakfast," Katara recounted slowly. "You were tired afterwards and decided to take a nap. Don't you remember?"

"What happened after that?" Aang followed up swiftly. "Where were you?"

"You seemed restless," she explained. "I just sat here and watched you sleep most of the time and then I took a nap myself." She surveyed him with mounting alarm. "Aang, are you okay?" she asked again.

"I'm fine," he replied with a dismissive shake of his head. "I was…was just a little confused for a minute."

"Confused about what?" Katara queried.

"I thought…" he closed his eyes briefly, deciding not to repeat the terrifying sequence of his dream. Instead, he set about trying to determine what had been real and what had been in his head. "Was Sokka here earlier?" he asked her. "I thought you were talking to him."

"No," Katara answered. "You've only been asleep for a little while. I didn't go anywhere." When her reply only deepened the already deep furrow in his forehead she offered to get Sokka for him in hopes that would solve whatever was bothering him. It didn't.

"What about Azula?" he asked her quickly. "You…you haven't seen her, have you?"

"Aang, we couldn't find Azula, remember?" Katara explained carefully. "She wasn't in Lake Laogai when we found you. Zuko has men looking for her." She curved a comforting hand over his cheek. "Don't worry," she whispered. "We will find her." However, that reassurance didn't seem to soothe him either. If anything, Aang seemed more agitated than ever.

He threw back the covers and climbed from the bed, striding over to the window on the other side. With a pensive scowl, he stood there watching as Fire Nation troops practiced battle formations in the square below. What struck him was that he wasn't particularly surprised to see them there. At least, now Aang knew that those particular hallucinations about the war hadn't been hallucinations after all. Azula wasn't messing with his head about that. They were, indeed, at war and he had missed out on a month of it. But even seeing the evidence with his own eyes, Aang was still incredibly fuzzy on the details. He leaned his shoulder into the window frame and, without turning to face Katara, asked softly, "How did we get to this point?"

A few seconds later he felt her arms slip around his waist. Katara pressed a tender kiss against his scar before resting her cheek against his bare back. "You know things were tentative before you disappeared," she explained simply. "After you were gone, it all just exploded."

"You mean after I was taken out of the way," Aang corrected with a grim, sideways stare.

"Yes. We're thinking it was strategic on Azula's part," Katara confirmed.

"And…how are things looking right now?" Aang asked reluctantly.

"At the moment, you're pretty much the only thing that stands between the rebel Earth Kingdom army and the fall of the Fire Nation, though Zuko wouldn't dare admit it," Katara said. "We're losing the ground fight. If the army takes to the sea and the Fire Navy can't keep them from breaching the borders…then it's over."

"Why didn't Zuko just let the Colonies go," Aang ground out in frustration. "We could have avoided all of _this_! Was his pride really worth it?"

Katara stroked her hands over his shoulders in an attempt to massage away the tension knotted there. If anything, her soothing touch only caused him to tense more. "Listen to me…in the beginning, I thought the same thing you did," she murmured, "and I blamed Zuko for what happened but… It's not his fault, Aang. The Earth Kingdom attacked first. Zuko had to defend his people."

"Right," he grunted. "And why was the Earth Kingdom primed for attack in the first place, huh?"

"Aang, this has become a much bigger issues than just the Colonies," Katara told him. "If it were only about that, this conflict would have ended by now, but it's not just that. The Earth Kingdom is split apart by civil war and the Fire Nation is in serious danger of being invaded if we don't end this soon. You're the only one who can. The rebel army feels like they have free rein with you out of the way. Most of the world suspects you may be dead…when you prove them wrong, that will change everything."

He shrugged from beneath her have, pivoting to face her with a defensive glare. "So what? If it's not Zuko's fault we're in this mess, are you saying it's mine?" he demanded in challenge. "He did nothing wrong, but I'm supposed to make it better? Is that what you're getting at, Katara?"

"Aang, I didn't say that at all," she replied evenly.

"Well, that's how it sounds," he mumbled sullenly. "I'm only one man. Everyone won't play nice just because I tell them to!"

"No one's expecting that, Aang."

"Aren't they?" he retorted. "Once again the world is in trouble and it's up to me to fix it all!"

Katara took a stumbling step back, surprised by his sudden and uncharacteristic rage and bitterness. "Aang, this isn't like you," she whispered. "You're never like this. Tell me what's wrong."

"How would you know if this isn't like me or not, Katara?" Aang retorted. "_I_ don't even know if it's like me! I can't tell if I'm coming or going these days!" Belatedly realizing he was poised on the edge of losing complete control, he closed his eyes and made the conscious effort to recompose himself. When he spoke again, he was significantly calmer. "I'm sorry," he began contritely. "I don't know where all of that came from."

"I do," Katara whispered in commiseration. "You've had a horrible experience, Aang, and you're mentally and physically exhausted. Because of everything that's happening, you haven't even had a chance to deal with any of it. You should take a few days to rest and heal."

"I'm the Avatar, Katara," Aang insisted. "This is my purpose. If the World needs me…then I have to answer. It's as simple as that."

"No one would fault you if you just took a couple of days to recover," she cajoled.

"_I'd_ fault me," Aang said. "Too much time has passed already. I need to talk to Zuko and we need to find a way to end this before it's too late."

"You're going to talk to Zuko _now_?" Katara cried in disbelief. Her mouth actually fell open when he began pulling on the fresh clothing she had laid out for him earlier. "Aang, you've only had a few hours of sleep and most of that was restless! You're weak and you're tired and…you haven't even been back a full day!" She caught hold of his forearm, compelling him to straighten and meet her pleading eyes. "I don't think you should push yourself."

He smiled and bent forward to brush her lips in a fleeting kiss. "I love you," he said solemnly. "I love that you want to fight for me, but I'm fine. Really."

"Aang, I don't know…" Katara murmured uneasily. She feathered his lower lip with the tips of her fingers. "I'm worried about you."

"Trust me," he whispered. "I know what I'm doing."

Katara wanted desperately to believe him, but the shadows lurking in the gray depths of his eyes were impossible to ignore.

****

"Aang looks awful." Sokka made that succinct pronouncement to his sister after he exited Kuei's war room in response to Aang's request to speak to Zuko alone. "I didn't think he could get much worse after last night." Katara's eyes flickered with worry before she continued her frenetic pacing in the hallway, wringing her hands in obvious anxiety as she did. The moment Sokka became alerted to her distress, he waved away Suki and Toph so that he could talk to her alone. When they had disappeared down the corridor, he asked, "So what's up with Aang? Shouldn't he…I don't know…rest a little more?"

"That's what I said," Katara mumbled. "But hey…what do I know?"

"He just got back," Sokka considered. "A shave and a bath aren't going to change what he's been through. The world's not going to go to pot if he takes a day. We were all pretty much expecting that. Honestly, at this point, it can't get much worse."

"Try telling that to him," Katara muttered grimly. "It's full speed ahead Avatar Aang. He's going to push himself to the limit and who cares what the rest of us think!"

"Katara, what's the matter?" Sokka wondered, sensing the underlying bitterness in her tone. "I thought you'd be completely relieved now that Aang's back, but… You look more worried than ever."

"Something's wrong with him, Sokka," she replied.

"Um…yeah, he just spent the last month being Azula's personal chew toy," Sokka reminded her. "I count it a victory that we found him in one piece, let alone sane and healthy."

"I sound ungrateful, don't I?" Katara sighed despondently.

"Not ungrateful," Sokka reassured her. "Just like the clucking mother-hen you are. But, then again," he amended in consideration, "your instincts have been pretty dead on these last few weeks so I'm reluctant to dismiss your misgivings altogether. In other words, sis…lay it on me."

"Aang barely slept last night," Katara confided. "And when he did, he tossed and turned the whole time. I think he was having nightmares, but he wouldn't tell me what about."

"Again, understandable considering the circumstances," Sokka said.

"Yes, but Aang always shares those kinds of things with me," Katara argued. "_Always._"

"Maybe it's too painful for him to talk about right now," her brother considered.

"That's actually not putting my mind at ease, Sokka."

"What would put your mind at ease?" he asked her diplomatically.

"If I knew what was going on in Aang's head," she sighed. "I've never had trouble reading him before. He's always been an open book to me. We share _everything_ and now… I feel like there are things going on that I don't know about, and I don't like it."

Sokka clamped a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Don't sweat it," he laughed. "Aang's just coming into his manhood. That's what we men do, Katara. We keep our emotions stifled and bottled up until the stress leads us to declining health and premature death. It's not the most effective way of dealing with our issues, but it's how we operate."

Katara scowled at him. "That's not how Aang operates," she persisted stubbornly.

"Well, it's about time he learned. Better late than never." However, when Katara failed to even crack a smile at his lighthearted jocularity, Sokka sighed in defeat. "Katara, you need to give him some time," he advised her seriously. "You said it yourself…Aang always talks to you about these sort of things. He's going to open up to you eventually. I think maybe he's just trying to concentrate on ending the war before he does."

"Maybe you're right, Sokka…" Katara murmured.

"Of course, I'm right," he said, looping his arm around her shoulder as they started down the hallway after Toph and Suki. "I am not only the meat and sarcasm guy, a capable swordsman and boomerang expert, I'm also a surprising fount of wisdom. Learn from me, little sister."

And that accomplished what nothing else had…it made his sister laugh her head off.


	20. Chapter Nineteen

**Chapter Nineteen**

"Should you actually be out of bed right now?" Zuko asked as Aang hobbled into the war room and closed the double doors behind him.

Aang regarded him with a dispassionate stare. "Is that what you were hoping for?"

Zuko frowned at the reply, acutely aware of the wary manner in which Aang regarded him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," Aang mumbled. "I'm just exhausted and cranky. Forget about it. Give me an update on where we are."

Even before Zuko began speaking the grim set of his jaw gave Aang a clue that the coming news would not be good. "The last of the colonies fell this morning," he said. "The Fire Nation officially no longer has a controlling interest in the Earth Kingdom. It's over."

"Then that should be the end of it, right?" Aang concluded. "I know it's not ideal by any means and I don't agree with their methods, but… They got what they wanted. Maybe now we can focus on putting everything back together."

"Except now they seem to want more," Zuko pointed out bleakly.

"If this is about punishing the Fire Nation for perceived crimes, we can go a long way in proving to them that you're not seeking retribution if we declare a ceasefire," Aang considered.

"But this isn't about punishing the Fire Nation," Zuko argued. "This is about world domination, only this time it's the rebel Earth Kingdom army playing the part of oppressive overlord. Your absence has made them bold. They've split off in all directions of the territory, claiming their conquered lands in the name of the _new_ Earth Kingdom. It's not good, Aang. My forces have managed to slow them, but not stop them altogether."

"Oh, please no," Aang groaned in dread. "This can't be happening again."

"At least you haven't spent the last hundred years in an iceberg, so that's a plus," Zuko remarked dryly. When Aang failed to find the humor in that, he added, "It could be worse."

"I'm sure it will be," Aang determined grimly. "So what aren't you telling me? I can tell from your expression that there's more."

Zuko expelled a reluctant sigh. "The largest number of troops is apparently headed here to Ba Sing Se," he revealed. "We suspect Azula is leading them. Did she tell you anything that might give us a clue as to what she plans? Did you overhear anything at all?"

Aang shook his head. "Azula was always very careful about what she did and did not let me know," he told Zuko. "One thing I do know…she never intended to hold me forever. She said she was just waiting for the right time to let me go. Why that is, I couldn't tell you."

"That makes sense, considering where she hid you. It's like she wanted us to find you and wanted to make me look like an idiot in the process. Maybe she was planning to wait until their campaign was complete to let you go," Zuko considered. "There's not much you could have done after the fact."

"Maybe…" Aang grunted.

"Either way, she's headed here now," Zuko said. "Possibly rescuing you last night forced her hand. She probably hopes to attack us while we were disorganized and unprepared. But, after what happened at Lake Laogai, I figured she would pull something like this. Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation forces are preparing to march within the hour to intercept their advance and, hopefully, crush them before they can reach the city."

"What?" Aang exploded in shock. "Why is this the first I've heard of it?"

"Well, we all talked about it…"

"_We?_" Aang prompted stridently. "Who's we?"

"The gang and I," Zuko emphasized. "We're all in agreement about it. Aang, you're still recovering. It would be better if you stayed behind and rested."

"What?"

With his flare-up of affronted temper a malevolent apparition materialized at his side. "I'll just bet he's concerned about your rest." The abrupt and shocking intrusion of Azula's voice had Aang ripping around a horrified stare. She sat perched on the edge of the large conference table in the center of the room, legs crossed, casually buffing her nails against the crisp lapel of her Fire Nation uniform and regarding him with her usual, knowing smirk. "Don't be fooled for a single second into believing Zuzu is concerned about you," she told Aang airily. "He's merely concerned with grabbing all the glory for himself."

Aang glared at her briefly but swallowed back his retort to her insinuation because he suspected, while he could see and hear her quite vividly, he was likely the only one that could. Azula sat there swinging her leg idly, looking for all the world like the complacent narcissist she was and Aang was wholly aware of the terrible reality that she was completely, undeniably, disturbingly in his head. He shut his eyes, hoping she would disappear from before his eyes, but she stubbornly remained. In fact, she laughed at his efforts to banish her.

"Listen, I know you're furious," Zuko soothed him presently. "You probably feel like we're deliberately leaving you out, but that's not it. We're all worried about you."

"Don't worry about me!" Aang snapped, checking the inclination to survey Azula with a sideways stare. "I'm fine and I'm in complete control so stop trying to make decisions for me!"

"Ooh," Azula taunted. "Who are you trying to convince? Zuzu or yourself?"

Aang sneered and Zuko assumed the look was for him. "No one is trying to control you, Aang," he retorted. "Be reasonable. You have to admit that you're in no shape to go with us. You can barely stand!"

"I'm the Avatar," Aang argued. "It's my place." Making a concerted effort to remain calm despite Azula's lurking presence, Aang focused his full attention on Zuko and did his utmost to pretend that nothing was amiss. "Fill me in on the plan for intercepting the army," he bid Zuko.

"No, Aang! I'm not going to do it," Zuko protested vehemently. "You can't be a part of this. You're too weak right now. If you went with us it would be a disaster, and I'm not going to help you kill yourself!"

"In other words, you're no longer of any use to me and you'll be in the way," Azula paraphrased glibly. She smirked at Aang. "So much for being friends til the end. Poor Avatar."

"Shush up…" Aang grated out in a whisper between clenched teeth.

"No, truly," Azula insisted. "I sympathize. How do you think I felt after Zuko abandoned us all to join forces with you? That's what my brother does…he always acts in his own best interest. It's a family trait, you know?"

Yet again, Aang had to bite down against the inclination to respond to what amounted to a figment of his imagination. He released a low growl of frustration. "Zuko, I'm fine," he insisted. "You need me and I want to help you. I'm going. We're wasting valuable time arguing about it this way."

It never occurred to Aang to consider that, perhaps, he wasn't in the best position to be offering his assistance to _anyone_ at the moment. His determination to do the right thing, to prove himself was blinding him to glaring reality. The fact that he was having visions of a woman who was, at present; miles away didn't exactly speak highly of his current mental state.

Sensing that something was wrong, Zuko grew steadily more alarmed. The combination of Aang's highly volatile demeanor as well as his fidgety behavior was not instilling Zuko with confidence. His friend was obviously exhausted, both mentally and emotionally. The last thing he needed was to throw himself into the middle of what was sure to be an epic battle less than 20 hours after he'd been rescued from a month of sheer torment and that's exactly what Zuko told him.

"It's doubtful this battle is going to be decided in a day," he went on pragmatically. "Take some time to recover and then join us. In the meantime, I'll handle this thing on my own."

"And that's exactly the problem," Aang exploded in frustration. "You've been handling it on your own this entire time and now look where we are!"

"Score one for the Avatar," Azula cheered from the sidelines. "Now you're growing a spine! You two are so entertaining to watch. I only wish I had a comfortable chair." Almost the moment she said the words, the chair appeared, conjured up immediately by Aang's unwilling imagination. Azula grinned at him and skipped over to plop down into the empty seat. "Whoo, that was convenient. Thank you, Avatar."

_Get out of my head_, he growled at her mentally.

_Not on your life_, she laughed back.

However, while he was mentally dueling with Azula, Zuko, offended and incredibly stressed, was losing his temper. He shouted at Aang, "I knew it! I knew you were blaming _me_ for all of this! At least now it's out in the open!"

"Well, who else should I blame?" Aang flung back. "They're your colonies, Zuko! It's your mess!"

"Well, perhaps if you'd let me know about _your_ decision to disband them sooner instead of conspiring behind my back…" Zuko ground out in hanging accusation.

"That's a lie! I never conspired against you!" Aang denied heatedly.

"You never said anything about your plans either!" Zuko pointed out. "I was blindsided, Aang, because of _your_ decisions! I did what I thought needed to be done!"

At this point, Azula released a crack of laughter. "Can you believe such unimaginable hubris? Because, as the Avatar, your job is certainly to answer to him," she inserted glibly. Azula tapped her chin in apparent deep thought. "Funny how I thought that was supposed to be the other way around…"

"That's exactly my point!" Aang snapped in agreement.

"What's exactly your point, Aang?" Zuko retorted. "You mean how I'm 'exactly' _right _about how you handled things? I may share the blame in this, but so do you!"

"_Exactly_ what are you two shouting about?" Hakoda demanded as he and Bato slipped inside the war room. "That's what I want to know. We can hear you both clear out into the hallway."

"Hakoda!" Aang breathed in relief, crossing the room to enfold his father-in-law in a brief, but affectionate embrace. "I didn't know you were here! When did you arrive?"

"Just a little while ago. I was on the front lines and only just received Katara's message that you were missing."

"And now I'm back," Aang concluded wryly.

Hakoda chuckled at the irony. "Better late than never, huh?"

"It doesn't matter," Aang murmured. "I'm glad you're here. Do Katara and Sokka know?"

Hakoda nodded. "I just spoke with them before I came in here," he said, taking a step back to regard Aang with a concerned once over. "They both seem to be rather worried about you, Aang. I'm wondering if there's any merit to it. How are you feeling, son?"

"I'm fine now that I'm back with my family," Aang said. He ignored Azula's amused snickers in the background. "I'm feeling much better."

"Are you sure about that?" Bato solicited, frowning as he surveyed the dark circles beneath Aang's eyes and the evident lines of stress on his features. He clamped an affectionate hand atop of Aang's head. "You look horrible, Aang," he remarked drolly.

"That's just what I was telling him," Zuko interjected stiffly. "He's insisting that he accompany us on this campaign. Tell him it's a ridiculous idea!"

"Aang…" Hakoda murmured in paternal unease, "…are you sure that's a wise decision?"

"Hakoda, do you really expect me to _sleep_ while you guys are off in battle?" Aang countered flatly. "Come on. Even if I did stay, I wouldn't rest and you know it."

"Our young friend here makes a good point," Bato laughed. "I'd feel the same way if I were in his shoes."

"As would I," Hakoda acknowledged reluctantly.

"It's still not a good idea," Zuko insisted. "I don't like it."

Annoyed and angry, Aang shot him a withering look. "But it's not your decision, is it, Zuko?" he countered pointedly. Their gazes collided in a tense battle of wills, their steely glares locked in an unspoken battle. Both Hakoda and Bato bounced alarmed glances between them, highly aware of the palpable antagonism between the two friends.

Finally, Zuko figuratively withdrew with a scowl of acquiesce. "We ride out in half an hour," he declared to Aang brusquely. "Be ready."

"Don't worry," Aang replied somewhat coldly. "I will be."

As Zuko exited with one last, parting glower at Aang, Hakoda regarded his son-in-law with a curious stare. "What's going on with the two of you?" he asked Aang. "Why were you fighting before?"

"We weren't fighting, Hakoda," Aang replied with a light laugh. "We were just disagreeing loudly. It's nothing to worry about."

"Are you sure?" Hakoda pressed. "That seemed like more than a simple disagreement to me."

"Everything is okay." Aang smiled at him, unguarded and seemingly guileless as he placed a reassuring hand on the older man's shoulder. "Trust me."

Beyond Hakoda and Bato, Aang caught sight of Azula's smile and the triumph glittering in her eyes. "Becoming quite the accomplished liar, aren't you, Avatar?" she murmured approvingly. "I wonder where you learned that."

Without a word, Aang deliberately cut his eyes away from her and followed Hakoda and Bato outside to prepare for battle.

****

"Is it really necessary for you to be on the front lines?" Ursa cried as Komo adjusted the final piece of his uniform. He turned to face her, fully outfitted and prepared for battle.

"You know how important serving with General Iroh's battalion is to me," he replied. "I think I've waited long enough to take my place on the battlefield."

"Zuko has plenty of men to fight for him, Komo," Ursa half argued, half cajoled. "I don't understand why _you_ have to go."

"Ursa, I am a soldier," Komo declared. "It is an honor to serve my nation, not a burden. I don't _have_ to go. I _want_ to go. I want to do my part in ending this conflict. No one wants this to turn into another hundred years' war. We must all do our part to make sure that doesn't happen."

"Now you sound like Iroh and Zuko," Ursa grumbled none too graciously. "Since when did the fate of the world fall on your shoulders?"

"I would think you'd be happy to know I'm standing with Zuko and Iroh on this," he remarked with a disarming smile. "We're finally agreed upon something."

"This wasn't what I had in mind."

He reached out to brush his knuckles over the ridge of her cheek. "Don't worry," he whispered. "We are all accomplished warriors…we'll come back."

Ursa was only marginally mollified by the reassurance. She was beside herself and with very good reason. Yet again the world had been plunged into global war and, just as it had been before, her family was at the source of the conflict. Ursa had no idea how her anxiety could be eased when she was acutely aware that her children were standing on opposite sides of the battlefield. Zuko and Azula, her children, both of whom she had carried beneath her heart and sustained with her own body, would be facing one another as enemies and this time the ending was not uncertain. This time, Zuko was determined to deal with his sister in a most permanent way. This time, Ursa was completely aware that there was absolutely nothing she could do to talk Zuko out of his decision.

Conflicted, Ursa found herself voicing aloud the thoughts flittering through her mind right then. "I don't know if I should be hoping for your success or your failure," she murmured.

"I sincerely hope you're leaning more towards the former," Komo remarked lightly.

"It's not that I want you to lose," Ursa rushed to explain, "but I don't want to see Azula on her knees either."

"You have to know that if she succeeds the results won't be good for anyone."

Ursa turned away, obviously struggling with that idea. "Azula doesn't know what she's doing," she argued weakly.

"By now, you know better than that," Komo countered gently.

"If I could only talk to her…"

"You've been _talking_ to her for the last six years," Komo pointed out. "It has gone beyond talking now." He placed his hands atop her shoulders and pulled her back against him. "Ursa, it's time you face the truth," he murmured gently. "Azula is not confused. She is not misunderstood. The choices she makes are a reflection of her inward desires. She does exactly what she wants, when she wants. It's not your failing as a mother. It's simply the way she is."

Ursa shook her head in denial. "I can't believe that," she whispered. "When Azula was a child I can admit that I was never ready with my affection towards her. She was always so guarded and…and furtive. It appalled me and I was reserved with her as a result. That was a mistake. I should have tried harder. I should have been a better mother to her. Instead, I gravitated towards Zuko because he was always open and affectionate and easy going. It was no secret that I preferred him…that he was my favorite. What do you think that must have done to Azula?"

"All parents have favorites, Ursa," Komo reasoned. "It doesn't make you a horrible mother."

"Yes, it does," she insisted, pushing from beneath his touch. "Azula grew up without affection and because she did, she's unable to give it as an adult. That is _completely_ my fault. I simply want to make up for my mistakes."

"You have done all you could," Komo insisted. "Now it is time for Azula to assume some accountability for her actions. She is no longer a young girl, but a grown woman and she made the conscious and willful decision to kidnap the Avatar and betray her Firelord and people. It's time she faced the consequences of her actions. You cannot shield her this time."

Ursa fixed him with a stubborn glare. "We won't agree on this, Komo," she stated imperiously.

"So we won't," he conceded in a soft murmur, leaning down to brush her lips in a fleeting kiss. "I know better than to argue with you when your children are involved." He framed her face in his hands, smoothing away the worry lines that bracketed her mouth. "I will do everything in my power to ensure that Azula is taken alive. You have my word, Ursa. But after that…it's in Zuko's hands."

She accepted his promise with a grateful nod and tearful kiss. "Be safe."

"I will," he told her. "I know you're sad and disappointed right now, but rejoice in your grandsons. Remember all the things you've gained rather than focusing on the things you've lost."

"I'll try," she said.

After several more kisses and a lingering hug, she said goodbye to him and watched until he disappeared down the corridor and out of sight. When she turned back into their guest bedchamber she was presented with his second uniform, hanging innocuously inside the large, wooden armoire on the opposite side of the room. The more she contemplated the idea of waiting at the palace and sitting on her hands, the more avid her perusal of the uniform became until she was drifting towards it, a wild idea formulating in her mind…

Moments later, she was ringing for the royal nurse. The nurse, who cared for Shi and Tong whenever Zuko and Mai were unable, appeared within minutes of Ursa's call. "Yes, my lady?"

"Ayi, have the babies brought to me at once," she ordered. "I wish to kiss my grandsons goodbye."

"Goodbye, my lady?" Ayi echoed in confusion.

"Yes," Ursa confirmed. "I am putting you in formal charge of the boys."

"Formal charge?" Ayi balked, aghast. "I don't understand. The Firelord indicated you would be overseeing care of the young princes and that I was to assist you, not take care of them on my own."

Stamping down the uncertainty that rose with her decision, Ursa stroked her fingers over the heavy design of Komo's uniform and forced herself to remain focused on her goal. "There has been a slight change in plans," she announced, abruptly turning to face the nurse. "There is some important business that I must see to personally," she explained vaguely. "I am entrusting you with the safety of my grandsons. However, if…if we should fall in this battle, I need your promise that you will run away with them and raise them as your own until the time when they are old enough to claim the Fire Nation throne as the rightful heirs. I know you will care for them well and protect them with your life."

The nurse stammered in response, clearly horrified by the magnitude of what her lady was requesting of her. "My…my lady, indeed I do have great affection for the young princes," Ayi said. "They are a delight to care for…I love them as my very own…but…do…do you really think it will come to that?"

"I don't know what to expect, Ayi," Ursa replied honestly. "But we should all be prepared for the worst. Our priority should be keeping the babies safe and preserving the royal line. You will never have a more important task than this one. Do not fail me. Do not fail your Firelord."

"I'm scared," Ayi whispered tremulously.

"We are all scared," Ursa told her, "and we all have a duty as well. We must do what needs to be done."

"But…but what about you?" Ayi burst out. "Why won't you be with me? What are you going to do, my lady?"

In response, Ursa turned back towards the uniform, her features resolved and inscrutable as she began fingering it once more. "What I have to," she mumbled in answer.


	21. Chapter Twenty

**Chapter Twenty**

Though Azula sensed JianJun the moment he ducked into her tent, she didn't glance at him until after she had finished pinning her hair to the top of her head. "You're getting better at that," he remarked casually, indicating the smart, tight knot she had fastened. "You look beautiful."

As he expected, Azula ignored the compliment. JianJun swallowed down his disappointment when she turned her attention towards readying her weapon. "Do you have news for me?" she demanded tersely.

"It is just as you'd anticipated, Princess," JianJun said. "Your brother and the Avatar did survive after all."

Azula stifled a yawn. "Of course, they did. I really didn't expect otherwise. They are nothing if not boringly predictable."

"He's preparing his army to march out to meet us."

The news didn't even provoke a flicker of doubt. "Good," Azula replied. "He'll be marching to his own demise. It actually works out better this way."

She would not be deterred. While her plan was, inarguably, beginning to fray a bit at the seams, Azula remained confident. Even with the last days' unexpected events, the finish line remained in her sights. At the end of the day, she could see her brother and the Avatar at her feet. She could see the world at her feet. As long as that goal remained fixed and immovable in Azula's mind, she could attain it. She _would_ attain it.

In spite of the unbelievable pressure placed upon her shoulders, Azula felt surprisingly calm. The deciding battle loomed before her. With the Avatar's escape and the leverage Azula had held over him seemingly vanished, her troops were now questioning the wisdom of going up against the Firelord. Long Feng's unexpected and curious "disappearance" had also left them shaken. Under the circumstances, Azula should have been an agitated mess…but she was not. Instead, her certainty of victory couldn't be more solid. She wasn't even the least bit unsure. Even with the turns her plan had taken, Azula still felt as if she were in total control and that sense of control made her feel omnipotent.

Failure simply was not an option. With Long Feng no longer part of the equation, Azula was now in complete command of the rebel Earth Kingdom army. They looked to _her_ for direction now. The expectation for victory had been laid at her feet. Not even when her father had been alive had Azula been afforded such unquestionable power. It was true that she had done what she wanted, when she wanted, but always present in her mind was the inescapable fact that she answered to Ozai. This time, however, Azula answered to _no one_. The realization was intoxicating.

However, Azula wasn't unaware of the obstacles before her. She faced rather daunting prospects ahead. Zuko and the Avatar's survival had been unfortunate though not completely unexpected. Her brother would prove to be a formidable foe and even the Avatar had shown incredible reserves of strength. Even in her swamping hatred of them, she could acknowledge that both young men were forces of their own. Azula had little doubt that they both would give her the fight of her life. But, then again, she was just as determined to give them the fight of theirs. Indeed, failure was not an option.

She would not repeat her father's and grandfather's and _great_ grandfather's mistakes. Now the time had come for her to step into the role she had been born to fill. It would be a historic day. Unfortunately, there would be no commendation from her family or friends on a job well done. There would be no one to toast her success, no one to pat her shoulder for a job well done. Azula thought briefly of her mother, but swiftly stamped down the yearning that rose up for her. It wasn't as if Ursa would approve of her actions anyway. That bridge had been burned a long time ago…

With a resolved sigh of mounting anticipation, Azula gathered up her crossbow and slipped her arrows into the sleeve at her back before rolling to her feet. "Today is our day, JianJun," she murmured. "Today I will achieve the greatness that my father couldn't. Today I will become legend."

Almost overwhelmed with the magnitude of the moment, Azula found herself reaching out to briefly touch his hand. Whether it was the genuine desire to touch him or the realization that she was about to achieve everything she wanted and more, Azula was taken by the sudden, inexplicable need to appease the thirst for affection that was continually banked in his eyes. "Thank you for your loyalty, JianJun," she expressed in a halting tone. "I've…I've never told you that before, but it seems fitting to do so now."

"You never have to thank me, Princess," he whispered solemnly. "I don't serve you out of loyalty. I serve you out of love."

The words were like a splash of ice water. Rather than endear her, the avowal had Azula cringing inwardly. There was a secret part of her that warmed at his words, but then there was the cynical portion of her heart that compelled her to rebuke him. Her features became stony and guarded. "Serving out of love?" she sneered as she reached for the tent flap to make her exit. "What an absurd thing to say! You should know better than to express such foolishness!" She softened momentarily to add, "Don't ever say anything like that to me again."

"Because you don't want to hear it?" he surmised sadly.

"Exactly," she said. "I don't want to hear it." However, as she left the tent to address her waiting army beyond, she had to stamp down the tiny voice that whispered otherwise.

****

They spilled over the hillside in battle formation, a continuous, undulating sea of green, their convex helmets gleaming in the sunlight. Billowing in the wind was not a flag emblazoned with the Earth Kingdom insignia, but a new one entirely, advertising the symbol of the new nation they had forged. The ground rumbled with the cadence of their synchronized marching, echoing in the ears of the soldiers awaiting them on the other side of the ridge.

Sokka gulped audibly as the thundering footfalls grew closer and closer. On both sides of him, his friends and family did a final weapons check and adjusted their battle armor. Even Appa bellowed in anticipation. With his lips set in a grim line, Sokka readjusted his helmet and pulled his sword free from its sheath in preparation. Out across the valley, the hill rolled onward.

"That's a lot of earthbenders," he remarked in an unenthused drawl. He flicked Aang, who was visibly pale, with an appraising glance before leaning into Zuko and muttering in a low aside, "Aang looks like death on a stick."

Zuko followed his line of sight, stamping down his own worry over Aang's pallid appearance. "He'll be alright," he said, despite his inclination to agree with Sokka.

Still, his lack of conviction when voicing that declaration didn't go unnoticed by his friend. The younger man's shoulders slumped forward. "Yeah…we are so going to get spanked, aren't we?"

"Hey now," Zuko replied softly, "I thought we were supposed to be all about the positive attitude, remember?"

"Alright then," Sokka amended. "I'm _positive_ we're going to get spanked. That better for you?"

"So what's the plan?" Aang asked, commanding everyone's attention on the front line. He looked out at the incoming army. "I'm thinking we're past the point of nicely asking everyone to go back home."

"I'm with Twinkle Toes," Toph interjected. "These people came here for a fight. I say we give them what they're asking for."

"That's not exactly what I meant, but…okay," Aang mumbled.

"I know the last thing you want is more loss of life, Aang," Zuko said. "Honestly, I think the only way we're going to end this expediently is by shaking their confidence. We have to hit them where it hurts."

"Yeah well, after they've come _this_ far and accomplished _this_ much, that's going to be hard," Suki reasoned.

"Not if we take away the _reason_ for their confidence," Zuko countered. "Azula is the one who stirred them up to this point. They're feeding off her decisiveness in battle. If we want them to fall apart, we're going to need to capture Azula first. They never would have made it this far without her. Learning that the Avatar is alive and free is bound to rattle them, but taking Azula captive will scatter them. They'll retreat afterwards. I guarantee it."

"And how are we supposed to get to Azula?" Sokka queried. "It's not like they're going to make it a straight shot to her, you know?"

"That's where Aang comes in," Zuko said, locking eyes with the younger man. "When the battle starts I need you to go up on Appa and scan for Azula. When you find her, take her and bring her back here to me."

Aang nodded his agreement of that Katara placed a hand on his shoulder. He twisted a glance around at her. "Are you sure you're okay?" she fretted softly. "You look a little pale."

Actually, he wasn't sure he was "okay" at all. He felt dazed and confused and he was seeing people who weren't there. The last thing he wanted to do was jeopardize his friends and allies, but he knew if he told them about his weird visions and dreams they would insist that he wait out the battle. That was simply not an option for Aang. This entire mess had progressed as far as it had because of his absence. He felt responsible for every life present on that battle field on _both_ sides of the conflict. In the grand scheme of things, Aang realized the part he would play would be miniscule at best. However, he wanted to make a contribution to ending the conflict, no matter how small.

Therefore, when he answered Katara's question, it was with a measure of dishonesty. "I'll be alright," he told her. "The sooner we end this, the sooner I can get back and rest."

"Are you sure?" Katara pressed again. There was something in his eyes said differently.

Aware of her avid perusal and made self-conscious by it, Aang skirted his gaze away. "I'm sure," he said.

Katara regarded him with a lingering stare full of uncertainty before finally inclining her head in a nod of acceptance. "Be careful," she cautioned him, reaching up to briefly frame his face in her hands. "I'd like you back in one piece."

"Then we want the same thing," he replied with a teasing smile.

"Well then," she sighed, squaring her shoulders and flicking a glance over at Zuko. "Let's do it."

Zuko raised his arm to command the attention of the swelling throng of troops behind him. "Archers, ready!" The marching army ahead became a running battalion at his cry. "Aim!" A deafening battle cry went up as they swarmed over the hill like a stream of locusts. "Fire!"

The shower of arrows zinged through the air as the two opposing groups converged on the battlefield. Aang took to the skies just as the field was consumed with dust and smoke and the clash and clamor of heaving bodies. Vociferous war cries on both sides echoed throughout the valley. Aang angled Appa high above the melee, deftly avoiding the rock missiles and arrows that crisscrossed the sky.

From his position, Aang had a near unobstructed view of what was happening beneath him. The haze of earth and fire made it somewhat difficult to see, still Aang managed to catch glimpses of his friends as they plunged into the thick of battle. Sokka and Hakoda had already made their way to the center, clearing a path for other Water Tribe warriors to follow.

Father and son fought back to back, creating a circling defense against the earthbenders crowded around them. Aang's fingers tightened reflexively around his glider as he watched their enemies assault them in unrelenting waves. He was fully prepared to launch himself down there and offer assistance, but Sokka, Hakoda and the other Water Tribe men seemed to have the situation well in hand.

Using his sword as a shield, Sokka deflected one earthbending missile after another while his father knocked the earthbenders back in hand to hand combat. Sokka ducked and danced and dodged, rebounding from one point to another, expertly evading whatever attack he encountered and leaving his enemy immobilized in his wake. He used his sword as fluidly as he would his arm or leg, as if the gleaming metal were an extension of his own body. With one arm he blocked the enemy and with the other he used his boomerang to stop them in their tracks altogether. With breathtaking efficiency, he and Hakoda pushed their way towards enemy lines, opening a way for their allies to follow as well.

In a desperate effort to stymie the enemies advance, soldiers from the rebel army began breaking forth great, hulking boulders from the ground and chucking them across the distance towards the opposing army. They landed behind Zuko's military lines with crushing force, scattering his men and halting their progress forward. Others, not so fortunate, found themselves trapped under the boulders massive weight, unable to bend themselves out of danger due to restricted range of motion.

From the sky, Aang disintegrated the massive boulders mid-air, crumbling them to dust before they could reach the allied camp and cause further damage. For his efforts, he drew enemy fire as well. A bevy of earthen daggers and arrows sailed past and over his head. Appa veered sharply through the air with surprisingly agility, narrowly missing the shards of earth being hurled towards them.

On the ground, Katara quickly scrambled forward to tend to the wounded. Toph, meanwhile, under a barrage of heavy attack, managed to fashion a large trench to protect the fallen soldiers from incoming missiles. When she had made a crater deep enough, Toph clambered down the shifting façade of the inner wall to assist Katara in pulling the injured soldiers to safety.

Outside the trench, rebel earthbenders increased their efforts, rendering conditions within the furrow dangerously unstable. Beneath their feet, the earth began to crack and shift before splitting open wide. Katara yelped in surprised dismay. Several of the wounded fell into the fissure, only to be saved by Toph's reactive earthen catapult. As they were flipped back onto semi-solid ground, soldiers clung futilely to the crumbling earth wall to keep from falling into the open chasm. Thinking quickly, Katara flung out a wave of water and froze the liquid around their slipping bodies until Toph could repair the fissures.

"Toph, hurry up!" she grated frantically.

"I'm doing my best! They're breaking it up faster than I can fix it!" Toph cried.

"What do we do?" Katara yelled back, her eyes widening with horror as she noticed her ice wall was beginning to break away from the side of the trench. "They're not going to stop until we're all below ground!"

"Yell for Iroh and tell him we need some cover over here!"

Toph had just bended out another rock shelf to keep them all from tumbling to their deaths when relief came. Iroh, Komo and a battalion of firebenders combined their efforts to form a protective ring of fire around the crumbling trench. When the perimeter was completely secure, they exploded the banked flames outward in a holocaust of explosive heat, blowing back their enemies and thwarting their unrelenting attack. A few seconds later, Iroh peeked over the edge of the ditch just as Toph was rolling upright from the dirt.

"I thought you were opposed to damsels in distress," he remarked drolly.

With a snort, Toph bended away the excessive dirt from her tunic. "I was hardly in distress," she scoffed. "I had the situation perfectly under control."

"That so?" Iroh challenged.

Toph shrugged. "I was just giving you the opportunity to be close to me, that's all. You know you like it."

"Thank you sincerely for your kindness," Iroh deadpanned.

"No problem," came Toph's airy reply.

"In that case…can I be of any further assistance to you before I take myself off?" he wondered politely.

Toph tipped back her head and favored him with a gleaming smile of pure adoration. "Nope. I believe you've done enough for now," she replied cheekily. "Stop your shameless flirting. There's a battle going on up there…hello? Get back to work!" He favored her with a snappy salute and a smart, "aye, aye," before disappearing from view. Toph turned back towards Katara with a wide, besotted smile. "Man, do I love that guy."

As Toph worked to restore the trench's structure and Katara tended to the wounded, Suki and her Kyoshi Warriors darted in and out of the throng of clustered earthbenders. In a series of twists, twirls, stunning flips and a flurry of well placed strikes to the body, they left the ground littered with immobilized earthbenders. Those fortunate enough to evade their quick, debilitating jabs and slicing fury of their fans were met with the silent and accurate precision of the Yu Yan archers.

Dressed completely in black, the archers poured into the field like floating phantoms, scrambling into concealed places quietly and efficiently. Only the muffled hiss of their whizzing arrows could be heard as earthbenders were haplessly jerked aside and pinned to nearby trees, clumps of earth and sometimes even one another. Under different circumstances witnessing the Yu Yan prowess with a bow and arrow would have made Aang extremely uncomfortable. Now, however, he could not help but marvel at the fluid grace of their attacks as he alternately searched the battlefield for Azula and ducked out from under incoming fire.

A few minutes later Aang spotted her. She was in a relatively open clearing with Mai, trading blows and arrows. He started to grab his glider and make his descent down to where they were when Appa suddenly veered upwards in avoidance of an earthbending attack. His jarring movement pitched Aang into the air. On his downward plunge, Aang managed to snag hold of the bison's reins and keep himself from plummeting to the terrain below, but he lost his glider in the process. As Aang struggled to right himself, Mai and Azula squared off with menacing intent.

"I hear congratulations are in order," Azula taunted with a sneer. "I'd have never taken you for the domestic type, Mai. What a boring existence, but then again…that's quite fitting for you, isn't it?"

She ducked out from beneath Mai's stream of knives before countering Mai's aggressive advance with an elegant crossbow attack of her own. She weaved the clunky weapon about her body with surprising fluidity, shooting forth a piercing line of arrows. In an anticipation of this day, she had modified her weapon for maximum efficiency. Her bow was smaller and sleeker than most crossbows and fitted with a tiny compartment built below the wooden hilt for extra arrows. Within the compartment was a tiny, mechanized spring that served to give her missiles more power on the launch. When Azula hit her target…she hit it hard.

Mai dove to safety behind a large, jutting boulder, fortunately evading the missiles which embedded themselves in the bodies of hapless, surrounding soldiers. They crumpled to the ground with guttural grunts of pain. Mai winced with regret and sympathy over the gruesome sounds.

"Aww, now look what you've made me do," Azula mocked. "Don't you protect the innocent now, Mai? I must say, in my humble opinion, you're doing a very poor job."

"Not that you're making it a very easy one, Azula," Mai snorted from her hiding place. "Besides, we both know you don't care at all."

"You're right," Azula agreed with a shrug. "I don't. It's actually more fun for me this way. How about you?"

"You're insane!" Mai spit out in disgust.

"Again…you're right," Azula laughed. "Now be a good girl and stop hiding from me. You know you've never been any good at it."

"I was better than you!" Mai flung back. As Azula continued her cautious approach, Mai readied her bow. Despite the cacophony of shouts and thrashing bodies reverberating out across the battlefield, Mai managed to zero in on the direction from which Azula's voice came. She was certain, even with the crowd surrounding them, that she could get a clean kill. It would be her first but, Mai supposed, completely necessary. In order to gauge Azula's exact location so that she could launch her strike, Mai cleverly kept Azula talking.

"I don't know what it is that you plan to achieve by this!" she retorted, ducking anew when a triad of arrows whizzed past. She darted her eyes over the terrain for a better place of attack.

"You want to know what I'm trying to achieve, Mai?" Azula considered with a smooth laugh. "Absolute power, of course."

"Yeah, because that worked out so well for your father and your grandfathers!" Mai retorted sardonically. "Where are they again? Oh, that's right…they're dead. I guess you're looking to follow in their footsteps!"

"Well, it's pretty clear that they went about it all wrong, now isn't it?" came Azula's snappy reply.

Sensing Azula's approach and knowing her positioning was too awkward to launch a fatal shot, Mai swiftly rolled out from behind the boulder and shot to her feet, sprinting towards a nearby tree. A whiz of arrows followed her retreat; glancing so closely that she could feel the wind they created as the pierced the air. The last of them glided across the back of her neck, cleaning slicing through the material of her tunic. After assuring herself that no blood had been drawn, Mai climbed swiftly into the cover of foliage ahead and took her position.

"Are we done playing this game now, Mai?" Azula taunted. "Let's see, how does it go? You run and hide and I'm supposed to find you, is that it? That's hardly a wise move on your part. Even as a child you could never hide from me, Mai. No one could."

Mai patiently waited for her to step into range. "Things change, Azula," she retorted.

"Oh, that's right," Azula sneered as she warily circled the wide perimeter of the tree, careful to keep out of Mai's line of sight. "You are a mommy now, aren't you? Hmm…I know motherhood is supposed to be a blessed joy and all, but…it seems to me like it would be more of a handicap."

Something menacing in her tone had Mai relaxing her guard momentarily. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Well, children are so helpless and vulnerable…especially when they're babies," Azula reasoned with affected casualness. "It would be ridiculously easy for someone will ill intentions to harm them…or worse." She sighed and, at last, stepped into Mai's line of fire. "Tell me, Mai…who's watching your children right now?"

That veiled threat boiled over the rage simmering within Mai. She knew that Azula did not have her children, but the implication that she wasn't above hurting them was too much. With a feral growl, she pulled back her arrow, prepared to kill her on the spot when Aang suddenly landed between them, blocking her shot. She bit out a low curse of frustration as Azula faced off with Aang, the corner of her mouth tilted in an unsurprised smile.

"Well, if it isn't my old friend the Avatar," she greeted expansively. "I know we've only been separated a day, but…did you miss me?"

"The games are over, Azula," Aang declared brusquely. "This ends right now."

"And who's going to end it?" she challenged. She threw back her head with a scoffing laugh. "You? Come on. A stiff wind could blow you over."

"Don't underestimate me, Azula." Aang assumed a battle stance. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way," he told her. "It's your choice."

She flashed Aang a predatory smile. "Well, in that case, Avatar…you're going to have to catch me first," she said, before abruptly pivoting on her heel and darting for the cluster of trees beyond.


	22. Chapter Twenty One

**Chapter Twenty-One**

They were losing the sun. The battlefield was littered with the bodies of the fallen and yet the battle was still very much in its youth. The rebel forces pressed forward with unrelenting temerity and the opposing army pressed back with equal force. There was a singular, imperative subject that both armies had in mind, however: Ba Sing's Se's looming defensive wall. The former wanted to demolish it and the latter wanted to protect it and both sides were expending their energy to keep the other from reaching its goal. Unfortunately, the allied forces were at a disadvantage. The rebel army had enough men to rest their exhausted troops while Zuko and Kuei's forces had little choice but to keep pushing forward, even as their warriors began to wobble with fatigue.

It was during the campaign to push back yet another wave of earthbenders that Katara and Zuko caught sight of Mai on the outskirts of the battlefield, just between the heaving multitude and the dense forest. She stood doubled over, one hand braced against the trunk of a tree and the other against her chest as she struggled to catch her breath. Alarmed, Zuko immediately ran to her side. He weaved agilely between the thrashing bodies, calling for Katara as he did in case Mai needed a healer.

"What happened?" he demanded when he reached her side, skimming his hands over her back and arms. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm…fine…" Mai panted. "I…just…I tried to keep up with them…"

The broken explanation relieved Zuko but also left him frowning with a mixture of incredulity and amusement. "Wait a minute… You mean like you chased someone?" He gaped at her. "Seriously? _You_, my wife…_ran_?"

Mai pinned him with a sarcastic glower, her breathlessness momentarily forgotten. "Yes, I ran, you idiot," she replied flatly. "I am capable of urgency, you know!"

Zuko threw up his hands in surrender. "Hey, I'm not questioning that," he replied magnanimously, though his lips still twitched in spite of his efforts to be serious. "I'm just having a difficult time imagining you running, that's all."

"Do you want to hear what happened or not?" Mai snapped dryly. The underlying exigency in her tone dispelled Zuko's amusement entirely and he immediately straightened with alarm. "They're probably way ahead of us now," Mai went on. "They were moving so quickly it was impossible for me to keep up with them."

"Who's they?" Katara queried.

"Aang and Azula," Mai managed after several calming breaths. "He chased her into the forest. I lost sight of them after they disappeared into the trees." The words were barely out of her mouth before Katara was shooting off towards the forest without so much as a backwards glance. Mai caught hold of Zuko's arm before he could follow her. "How are we doing?" she asked.

"We're holding off the advance," he replied. "If things keep going the way they are, the rebel army will likely have to call off the assault and begin again in the morning, but… We won't be able to handle another day like today. Our men only have so much endurance."

"I should probably get back then," Mai concluded. "They need all the hands they can handle out there right now. I'm sure you, Katara and Aang can take care of Azula on your own." She stooped to scoop up her bow and slung it across her shoulder before regarding Zuko again. "Azula threatened our boys this time, Zuko," she informed him solemnly. "I know this is hard for you, especially in light of how your mother feels, but…you know you can't let her live, right?"

"Yeah," Zuko acknowledged grimly. "I know."

****

Aang circled the forest in a cautious dance. His line of sight was filled with nothing but the green-black bark of the surrounding trees. The ocher spill of dusk filtered down through the canopy of leaves above, casting the forest floor in a hazy, ethereal light. The setting had an almost dream-like quality, which wasn't necessarily a good thing for a man who was having trouble discerning his dreams from reality.

Stubbornly shaking away the tendrils of confusion weaving around his mind, Aang focused his attention on ferreting out Azula. He scanned the trees with keen eyes, not at all fooled by the forest's seeming tranquil stillness. "Enough with the games, Azula!" he said to the trees. "Come out and let this all be over!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that," came her laughing response from her hiding place. "You know very well how much I adore games, especially when I'm playing them with _you_, Avatar. It's become almost a tradition for us."

"You're consumed with hatred," he told her. "You think hurting me is going to make you happy, but it's not."

Azula's billowing sigh came at him out of the dimness. "Has anyone ever told you that you sound like a walking fortune cookie?" she wondered in a bored drawl. "I'm sure your friends appreciate it, but I find it rather annoying."

Having followed the sound of her voice, Aang focused in on her perceived hiding place. "I think, deep inside yourself, you know I'm right," he said right before sending forth a stiff blast of air. The gale's force was enough to shake the trees and strip most of their foliage, but he failed to reveal Azula at all.

She laughed at his efforts. "You were close, Avatar," she commended. "Very close. You want to try again now?"

"Come out!" he ordered flatly. "This is going to end badly! I don't want to hurt you!"

"I know you don't," Azula sang back. "Now why do you think that is?"

Rather than falling prey to her taunts and expending all his energy blasting in places she wasn't, Aang decided to take a different approach. He stood still for a moment and inhaled a deep breath, waiting and listening. He heard beyond the rustling of the leaves, the soft breeze stirring at his ear and even the faint gnawing the squirrel-cats made on their leechie-nuts. Aang focused past all of that to detect the subtle, excited pumping of Azula's heart. The beat was swift with anticipation and excitement.

With his next step against the ground, a shuddering wave of vibrations surged out from his body and revealed Azula crouched down low on one of the tree branches overhead. Pivoting abruptly, Aang split the earth at the base of the tree, upsetting the foundation and causing the mighty trunk to fall forward. Azula was pitched from its foliage on the descent. She landed on her feet in one, sleek somersault only a few feet away from him. When Aang turned to face her, she brought her hands together in mock applause for him. "Bravo, Avatar. You found me…now what?"

"Enough," Aang declared in a weary sigh. "It's over now, Azula."

"Not quite," she refuted with a subtle lift of her eyebrow. "I just have a few more aces…"

A nimble turn of her wrist sent the dart airborne. It came zinging at Aang with alarming speed, but he was ready for it. Instinctively, he threw up a rock shield, preventing the missile from making contact with his flesh. "Nice try, Azula," he said wryly. "But I'm on to that trick now. You were right. You _did_ teach me well." When he retracted the earthen wall to face her again, Aang discovered that Azula had, once again, disappeared. He quickly located her again, but she agilely avoided his air strikes by bouncing from one treetop to another.

Her laughter rang out at him. "What's the matter, Avatar?" she taunted. "Can't keep up with my _new_ tricks?"

"If it's your idea to drug me and drag me back to that hole, you should think again!" Aang flung out at her. "That's not going to happen!"

"Drug you?" she scoffed. "Why would I need to do that? You're doing exactly what I want already and, the sheer beauty of it is…you don't even know it."

Aang was still trembling with unease in the aftermath of the veiled statement when Katara and Zuko came running at him from the dense cluster of trees. "Where is she?" Zuko demanded.

"In the trees," Aang answered. "She's hiding."

"What do you mean 'she's hiding'?" Zuko exploded. "Are you playing around with her right now? Aang, this is serious! We capture her, we end this thing, remember?"

"He knows that, Zuko," Katara whispered in vehement reaction. "Why are you jumping all over him?" She received no answer to that, but the antagonistic glare he and Aang traded alerted her to the fact something was definitely not right between them. She made the mental note to address it later because, at the moment, they had more important matters that needed attention.

Ignoring Katara altogether, Zuko called out to his sister, "Azula, it's done now. You're outnumbered."

"I've been outnumbered before, brother," she retorted lightly. "The Avatar isn't the only one who doesn't want to return to his cage! If that's what you're after, you're going to have to work for it, brother-dear!"

"You're only dragging this out," Zuko told her. "If you don't care about your men and you don't care about your nation, can you, at least, give a thought to our mother? What you're doing is tearing her apart!"

"Don't bring our mother into this!" Azula spat.

"I'm not the one who did that," Zuko retorted. "You did! You're breaking her heart." When she made no reply to that, Zuko narrowed his eyes. "Enough with the games…you can't take us alone, Azula. I'm giving you the opportunity to walk out of here with some dignity. Give up."

"Honestly, Zuzu…don't you ever get tired of making such pronouncements?" Azula drawled in a bored tone as emerged from her hiding place. A few seconds later, JianJun dropped from his hiding place as well and materialized at her side. Azula smiled. "Especially when you're always wrong."

Zuko was not intimidated by the earthbender's arrival in the least. He raked Azula with a contemptuous glance. "It's still three on two, Azula," he pointed out smugly. "And we have the Avatar on our side."

"Is that true, Zuzu?" she queried. "Are you sure? Do you _really_ have the Avatar on your side?"

Katara and Zuko slid a questioning look over at Aang, who paled visibly. The look on his face was alarming, but Zuko tried for bravado nonetheless. He regarded his sister with a sneer. "You held Aang captive!" he reasoned in a derisive snort. "Why would he want to align himself with you?"

"That's a very good question, brother. Why indeed?" Azula laughed, leveling her penetrating stare upon Aang. "But then again, Zuko…who can you really trust?"

_Who can you really trust?_

The question triggered something primeval within Aang. It echoed through his mind with ominous intensity, escalating from a whisper to shouts so deafening he felt dizzy. Aang pinched his eyes shut in an effort to drown out the voice, but it only grew louder and stronger and more insistent. Beneath his feet, the ground seemed to shift and slide and he suddenly felt as if his world were tilting off its axis. He glanced around at the faces before him, but they were fuzzy and unfocused, much like his mind had been for the last month.

He stumbled back a step, only vaguely aware of Katara stepping forward to steady him. "Aang…Aang? Are you alright?"

Her words sounded as if she were encased in a tunnel of wind, muffled and muddled. He threw a desperate glance over at Azula. She was smiling at him…and waiting.

_Who can you really trust? _The answer came with chilling swiftness. _No one._

Those whispered words that had plagued his dreams and swirled in his nightmares. Aang looked over at Zuko, his friend and his nemesis and he wondered which façade was true. Suddenly, his face began to transform before Aang's eyes…long, black hair shortened into a mop of shaggy hair, the trademark crimson of his Fire Nation uniform morphed into a sleeveless green tunic. The forest expanded and retracted around Aang, looming trees becoming glowing green crystals, the dark spaces between those trees becoming a labyrinth of tunnels.

Aang was suddenly assailed with the urgency and fear of running through the crystal catacombs with Katara. He was pressed with the knowledge that they had a very limited time to escape. Azula's coup had been successful and the Earth Kingdom was on the verge of falling. Azula had given chase, but he and Katara stood together, a powerful waterbender and the Avatar. When Zuko came, the battle seemed like a decisive victory, but then Aang had looked him in the eye and he had known better…

They locked eyes presently, the Avatar and the Firelord, and Zuko recognized Aang's intent only seconds before the air strike blasted him back with so much force that the only thing that halted his violent tumble through the forest was the painful collision he made with a tree trunk. Almost immediately, pandemonium broke loose. While Katara was still in understandable shock over Aang's unprovoked attack, Aang charged after Zuko, blasting him again with punishing force. Azula happily took advantage of Katara's distraction and, before the waterbender could go after the Avatar in an attempt to restrain him, she darted forward and hit her rival's pressure points in a series of quick jabs. Stunned, Katara slumped to the ground.

"After waiting literal years for this moment…it wasn't nearly as satisfying as I'd hoped it would be," Azula remarked as she came to stand over Katara's prone body. "You disappoint me."

"What did you do to Aang?" Katara grated out between clenched teeth.

"I can't really explain the mechanics of the whole thing, but…it's a Dai Li specialty," Azula told her. She knelt down beside Katara, reaching out to idly play with a lock of the fallen woman's hair. "If it makes you feel any better…he was _extremely_ difficult to break. In fact, I wasn't even entirely sure I _had_ broken him until the exact moment he attacked Zuzu." She heaved a complacent sigh. "That Avatar…so full of surprises."

"Aang will never hurt Zuko!" Katara sneered. "He loves him like a brother!"

"We'll see…" Azula murmured before straightening. "But, if you're wrong, I'll get a front row seat to the Avatar finishing off my brother and destroying himself in the process. Who knows?" she continued, lifting her shoulders in a contemplative shrug. "By the time it's over…the world's last hope might very well be _begging_ me to kill him."

****

Aang tossed Zuko around like a rag doll, literally knocking him from tree to tree.

His attacks were aggressive and brutal and, in his mind, necessary defense. He was once again back in the old catacombs of Ba Sing Se and he was fighting, not just for his survival, but for Katara's…for the survival of the whole world. He could feel the scorching heat of Zuko's fire whips as the ground was knocked out from beneath him and he fell and fell and fell… He felt cold fear at the realization that Zuko's attacks had _never_ been this intense before.

The banished Fire Nation prince was ferocious and unrelenting and it required every ounce of skill Aang possessed to hold his own. And he _had_ to hold his own. So much depended on his success and much could be lost in his failure. But foremost were Katara and his duty to the world. He couldn't, _wouldn't_ allow Zuko to best him because Aang was unwilling to fail either. That motivation was the driving force behind his advance. He was in another time, another place and fighting a different battle altogether.

Zuko, as much as he was able, did his best to evade Aang's assault, countering only when it was absolutely necessary to do so. However, he realized that even when he did that, Aang's responses seemed to intensify, almost as if he truly believed Zuko was his enemy. As Zuko caught a glimpse of his blank stare between strikes, he suspected that was _exactly_ what Aang believed. Aang was clearly _not_ present with him right then. He didn't even seem to be looking _at_ Zuko, but rather looking _through_ him. For that reason, Zuko made a point of tempering his countermoves. The fireballs that he rocketed forth weren't meant to harm or maim, but merely to disorientate Aang long enough to afford him with time to dive into a hiding place.

"Aang, you don't want to do this!" he cried as he bounded and bounced from out of the range of a punishing pelt of earth and rock. "You don't know what you're doing!"

"I know exactly what I'm doing!" Aang flung back. "I thought we could trust you! I _wanted_ to trust you!"

With a sharp turn of his fists, Aang cracked the earth apart beneath Zuko's feet. The ground yawned wide, knocking Zuko off balance. Before he could be swallowed by the gaping fissure, Zuko blasted a stream of fire from his fist, jet-propelling himself to safety on the other side of the hole. Rather than run from Aang again, he stood before his friend and spread his arms wide in supplication. "Aang, don't do this," he pleaded. "I'm standing before you. I'm not attacking! I _won't_ attack you! We're friends! Don't' you remember that?"

"Your uncle said there was good inside you…" Aang recited, closing his eyes against the confusing images clashing in his mind. "I don't know what to believe…"

"Yes, you do," Zuko insisted. "I'm your friend. This feels wrong to you! You know it feels wrong!"

Aang hesitated, clearly compelled by Zuko's argument, wavering…when an arrow went zinging by his head, missing his ear by scant inches. He spun around swiftly and fell into a defensive stance. His confusion was only heightened when he found Azula standing there and she invited in a calculating tone, "Come, brother…if we work together, we can take him."

"Stop it, Azula!" Zuko glowered at her before he met Aang's betrayed glare. "Don't listen to her! We're not on the same side!" he flared indignantly. "She's lying, Aang! That's what she does!" Aang continued staring at him as if he were a stranger. "You're confused about everything. You have to believe me," he whispered softly, but Zuko could tell from Aang's expression that he didn't.

****

"Come with me," Mai urged Toph when she managed to find herself back to back with the blind earthbender on the battlefield.

"Mai, you know you're my girl," Toph replied between knocking aside advancing earthbenders and shielding herself from counter attacks, "…but there's kind of a battle happening right about now and I'm trying to stay alive. I can understand how you missed it."

Deftly firing off three arrows to crumble the incoming trio of earthen boulders, Mai favored Toph with a sardonic, sideways glare. Rather than retort with a sarcastic comment of her own, she cut directly to the chase. "We found Azula." That commanded Toph's attention straight away and she almost got her head taken off because of it.

"One sec..." she said to Mai as she took a moment to deal with the offending earthbender before giving Mai her limited attention once more. "You found Azula and…?" she prodded.

"I have a bad feeling."

That was more than enough for Toph. Bad feelings came a dime a dozen in their group, but whenever Mai had a bad feeling everyone always sat up and took notice. If a situation could rattle someone as calm and reserved as she was then that was a fair indication that things were bad. "Okay," Toph agreed. "Let's get out of here."

Mai's "bad feeling" only increased at an exponential rate when they found Katara making a determined, but largely futile attempt to drag her unresponsive body across the forest floor. They immediately ran to her side, working together to assist her into a sitting position.

"What happened to you?" Toph demanded.

"Azula happened," Katara replied. "Apparently, she's had a few chi blocking lessons. She took me by surprise."

"So where are Zuko and Aang?" Mai asked her. "Have they taken her into custody yet?"

"Azula did something bad to Aang," Katara revealed cryptically.

"Bad like how?" Mai prompted in a deliberate tone of voice.

"He…He attacked Zuko," she confessed in a suffocated tone.

"What?" Mai and Toph balked simultaneously.

"I…I think Azula must have brainwashed him or something…" Katara surmised brokenly. "I don't know. All I do know is that when I saw his face, right before he attacked Zuko…he was _not_ there. I saw his face and there was no recognition…like Zuko was…was his enemy. It was chilling. The only time I've seen him like that was back before he could control the Avatar State."

"Oh no," Toph breathed out, "when Aang's like that…" She trailed off into momentary silence, shaking her head when she thought about how destructive and deadly Aang could potentially become, especially if Katara was right and Azula had a hold on him. "This is bad," she grated in a harsh whisper. "He could do a whole lot of damage without even realizing it. He could actually _kill_ Zuko."

"It won't come to that," Katara mumbled. "Aang won't do that. He'd _never_ do that."

"Yeah, _our_ Aang wouldn't!" Toph scoffed. "Azula's Aang, however? He's a wild card, Katara!"

"He's not Azula's Aang, Toph!" Katara snapped irritably. "He's confused, not evil! I know Aang will do the right thing because he _always _does!" She bounced an emphatic look between Mai and Toph. "He will."

However, her reassuring conviction fell on deaf ears because Mai was already on her feet, her mouth set in a grim, determined line. "Which way, Katara?" she demanded tersely.

"They went through that cluster of trees," Katara indicated with a nod of her head. "Just follow the shouts." As Mai turned to sprint in the direction she'd indicated, Katara yelled after her, "Mai, don't hurt him! He doesn't know what he's doing!"

Toph sighed when Mai was gone, confused, sad, angry and frightened all at once. "What do you want me to do?" she asked Katara. "Should I go back and get help? Should I go after Aang? I don't want to leave you here like this."

Katara fixed her with an imploring stare. "Don't worry about me," she said. "Go after them. Make sure that Aang doesn't hurt anyone…or himself."

"Are…are we going to be able to reach him after this is over, Katara?" Toph choked. "Is he gone for good?"

"He's not gone," Katara told her in a resolved tone that brooked absolutely no argument. "In the meantime, we just have to keep him from doing something he'll live to regret."

"Are you sure I should leave you here?" Toph pressed. "What if Azula comes back? You're helpless."

"Azula won't come back here," Katara muttered. "She's too busy admiring her handiwork." She expelled a frustrated breath, as angry with herself as she was with Azula. "I knew something was wrong," she murmured, more to herself than to Toph. "He was acting so strangely and I just thought it was because he was tired and…" She closed her eyes, swamped with remorse. "He was giving me the clues and I missed it. I failed him, Toph."

"No, you didn't," Toph argued. "Don't you dare blame yourself! This is all that twisted freak Azula's doing! She needs to be stopped and permanently."

"Go after them, Toph," Katara urged her again. "I'll be okay. You have to make sure that this doesn't get any worse than it already is."


	23. Chapter Twenty Two

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

Azula had the good sense to get out of the way before Aang made his strike. The winds that billowed around his body had enough strength to send anything within a 20 foot radius airborne. JianJun and Azula were far enough to merely be knocked of their feet. Zuko, however, was pitched into the air. He landed on the other side of the clearing with an audible thud.

Mai happened to burst through the trees at that precise moment, just in time to see Aang charging her husband with the most feral expression imaginable contorting his usually genial features. Mai reacted on pure instinct. She raised her bow and fired off two rapid shots. Her intent wasn't to harm him, but to pin him to a nearby tree and slow him down.

Eyes narrowed, Azula raised her crossbow to handle the interference, but the Avatar had already taken matters into his own hands. Aang sensed the arrows swift approach even before they had been completely launched from Mai's bow. Without turning to acknowledge her presence, he raised a single fist and earthbended two mounds of dirt from the ground. They collided with the arrows mid-air, splintering them apart. Aang then turned his full attention to Mai. He flicked his wrists in a rapid twisting motion, jerking Mai down into the earth clear up to her neck.

While nothing else had prompted Zuko to attack Aang outright, witnessing his efficient response to Mai's attempt to subdue him provoked a blind rage. He launched himself at Aang with a feral war cry, palms blazing. Aang nimbly avoided Zuko's rampaging charge by airbending himself into the tree branches overhead. With a feral growl, Zuko bounded into the tree after him, using the serrated bases of surrounding trees to make it to the top and position himself in the branches adjacent to Aang.

"I know you're confused right now," he called out stubbornly, "but I can't let you hurt Mai or anyone else, Aang! I'm doing this for your own good!"

He uncoiled a long, strip of fire from his palm and lashed the blazing tendrils at Aang's feet. He burned clear through the bark, snapping the branch. Before it gave way completely, Aang darted to safety into another branch hanging overhead in a neighboring tree. Leaping forward, he caught hold of the bark in his hands and swung himself into a crouching position atop of it.

"So much for being on my side," he retorted sardonically. "I can tell you're really looking out for me! By the way, that girl works with Azula!"

"No, she doesn't! You've got this all backwards! You need to listen to me!"

"Sure…" Aang drawled as he darted aside. "Why don't I just do that while _you're trying to kill me_?"

"I'm trying to knock some sense into you!" Zuko countered in an aggravated bellow, rocketing a blast of fire directly at Aang's head. "You're acting crazy!"

"_I'm_ acting crazy?" Aang scoffed, vaulting backwards into the thick foliage behind him to avoid the ribbons of fiery heat. "If this is for my benefit…please, don't do me any favors!"

Growling with renewed frustration, Zuko darted after him, swinging from branch to branch with the grace and agility of a circus performer. Using the stalk of the tree as leverage, Aang planted his hands against the bark and pitched himself around the tree's perimeter, shooting forth a powerful surge of air from the soles of his feet when he came back around to face Zuko. Knocked off balance, Zuko lost his footing and went crashing through the crisscrossing of branches below. Only a nimble grab of a passing limb kept him from tumbling to the ground altogether. He recovered quickly, darting into yet another tree to dog Aang's bouncing retreat.

"Doesn't anything slow you down?" Aang cried in exasperation.

"I'm highly motivated!"

"Well, so am I!" Aang flung back as they traded yet another round of blows.

"Would you stop running from me?" he demanded in pure aggravation. "Aang, I'm trying to help you! If this doesn't stop you're liable to hurt someone, maybe even yourself! I'm trying to keep you from doing something you'll regret!"

In answer to that, Aang hung himself above Zuko's head, regarding the young Firelord from an upside down position. "So…" he considered wryly, "…how's that working out for you?" His answer came in the form of Zuko's lashing fire whip, which missed striking Aang by mere inches. After he flipped to safety, Aang flashed a triumphant look at Zuko when he landed higher in the tree. "Not good, I suppose."

Zuko hunted Aang through the tree branches with the determination he had used in the early years of his banishment, countering each of the airbender's dexterous steps with a blast of fire. He sprung from limb to limb, keeping in time with Aang's abrupt twists, turns, swings and lunges. The tree tops swayed and danced as they converged in combat, trading trembling waves of air and fire, before retreating and converging yet again.

As Aang and Zuko grappled in the trees, Toph arrived to find Mai literally up to her neck. Her intention to bend Mai free was waylaid, however, when she was suddenly catapulted into the air by an earth spike. Toph rolled to her feet and stamped the ground, shaking the foundation with bone-rattling force and upsetting JianJun's skating advance. He went tumbling ignominiously across the forest floor.

Meanwhile, upon discovering the grip of earth had loosened around her, Mai pushed herself up from the crater in the ground and made a frantic scramble for her bow and arrow. Just as her fingers curled around the grip, three arrows zinged past her cheek with stunning force, the last of which made a glancing pass across her flesh. Wiping away the tiny ribbon of blood with an infuriated growl, Mai returned fire. Arrows snapped back and forth with alarming speed, making light passes across each of the darting women and embedding deeply in the trunks of surrounding trees.

Toph and JianJun circled around them in fierce battle, bending themselves above and below ground on platforms of earth in an attempt to evade, not only each other's attacks, but the deadly crisscross of arrows too. Very soon, however, it dawned on Toph's that Azula and the Dai Li agent's assault lacked a particular fervor. They were aggressive and bold in their attacks, but their strikes were more diversionary than hostile. Toph suspected their main goal was to keep her and Mai occupied while Aang stomped Zuko into the ground.

In a bold move, because she was aware that the longer this battle went on, the greater the chance Aang or Zuko would do real harm to each other, Toph pulled her arms back in a yanking motion, opening the ground beneath her opponent's feet and knocking him off balance. As he bent out a shelf of earth to keep himself from falling, Toph vaulted over his back and Azula's head. She narrowly avoided being nailed in the gut as she sailed over, but instead caught Azula's arrow through her left thigh.

Gritting her teeth against the incredible pain that knifed through her leg upon landing, Toph quickly earthbended shackles up around Azula's ankles, effectively pinning her to the ground. She screamed at Mai, "Take the shot! Mai, take the shot now!"

Rolling to her knees in a single, fluid motion, Mai pulled back her drawstring and released the arrow. JianJun realized their intentions just as the missile split the atmosphere, headed straight towards Azula. Reacting instinctively, he threw his body into the path of the arrow, bending Azula free just as the shot pierced through his lower back. With a soft, agonized cry, he sprawled across Azula heavily.

Momentarily dazed, Azula pushed at his shoulders, shoving his inert body aside so that she could scoot from underneath him. Only when she sat up did she recognize the severity of his injury. Immediately, she scrambled to her knees and carefully rolled him onto his side to inspect the damage. Based on the location, she had little doubt that the arrow had punctured several vital organs. "That was an incredibly stupid thing to do," she spat at him, but her voice was quivering with emotion despite the harshness of her words.

"My…apologies…Princess…" he rasped weakly.

"Shh…spare me the dramatics. You're not going to die," she told him in a brusque tone. With clinical efficiency, she reached around and yanked the stem of the arrow from his back, hoping to get a better look at the wound. His anguished cry reverberated across the treetops before dissipating into the atmosphere. Azula had a difficult time quelling her reactive flinch at causing him such pain. He gasped for breath and began to convulse in her arms. "You are not going to die," she told him again in a strangled whisper. "You can't. You know you're all I have in this world, JianJun."

It was the closest she had ever come to admitting that she needed him. JianJun reached out blindly to touch her cheek, her hand…anything he could reach to convey the depth of feeling he had for her, but the desire went unfulfilled. His breathing suddenly ceased and his hand fell back limply to his side. Only when Azula realized that he was truly gone did the first tears of grief fall. She was surprised to feel any amount of sorrow at all. She certainly hadn't loved JianJun, though sometimes she had wished that she could. However, while she had not loved him, sometime within the last three years she had stopped imagining her life without him.

With his death, she was truly alone in the world and she felt it too. It was yet another thing _they_ had stolen from her. Murderous rage gradually replaced her grief and the thirst for vengeance filled up the emptiness in her chest. When Azula finally raised her eyes, they were alive with burning hatred and gleaming with the malevolence of one who had absolutely nothing left to lose.

****

After the moon finally and completely relieved the sun in luminary duties, a temporary ceasefire was called between the armies. Warriors on both sides were fatigued and weary. It was only after the allied camp had settled down for some well-deserved rest that Sokka and Suki realized that their friends were missing. "Have you seen Toph?" Sokka asked Iroh when the Fire Nation general approached his tent. "It's been hours."

"I was about to ask you the same thing," Iroh said. "It's not like Toph to be gone this long without word."

"Katara, Mai, Zuko and Aang are missing too," Suki provided. "Any idea what could be going on?"

Iroh gave his beard a pensive stroke. "There is a rumor circulating on the other side that Azula is missing…" he considered. "But I don't know if there's any truth to that."

"Is it possible that the others might have found her?" Suki wondered.

"It's possible," Iroh said.

"That doesn't make sense," Sokka argued. "If Aang and the others had captured Azula, they would have brought her back here by now. Are we sure they weren't taken by the other side as captives?"

"We'd know that by now as well," Iroh considered.

"So maybe it _is_ Azula," Suki maintained. "Maybe she laid a trap for them. Maybe they're in trouble."

"Seriously? You can't really believe that!" Sokka snorted. "Come on. Let's consider the facts." He held up a hand and ticked off the odds on his fingers. "Azula is up against a firebending master, a waterbending master, an earthbending master, a stealthy ninja with deadly knife skills _and_ the Avatar." He barked a laugh. "Talk about being unevenly matched."

Suki scowled at him. "I wasn't suggesting that she was alone," she retorted tartly. "It's not so implausible." Sokka snorted again and Suki pinched him for the offense. "Stop it," she warned him. "Don't get on my bad side."

Sokka's smart comment to her unspoken threat was forgotten when Iroh suddenly breathed out in puzzled wonder, "What is that?"

They followed his line of sight to where the night sky was occasionally lit up with flickers of orange. Sokka frowned, unconsciously drifting forward for closer inspection. "I wonder what's happening over there," he considered aloud.

"Looks like someone is firebending," Iroh remarked. "Considering the circumstances, perhaps it would be a wise idea to investigate the situation. Suki is right. I don't like the idea of everyone missing while Azula's whereabouts are unaccounted for. If it is one thing I have learned from dealing with my niece, it is never to underestimate her."

"Okay," Sokka relented with a sigh. "We'll check it out." None of them noticed the lone figure following them as they made their way outside the camp to the forest of trees on the other side.

****

"Go after Aang!" Mai ordered Toph as she avoided Azula's ferocious charge and ducked for cover. "I can hold her off on my own, just go stop Zuko and Aang before they kill each other!"

After gritting her teeth and yanking the arrow from her leg, Toph pushed to her feet as quickly as she could and limped towards the flashing treetops, reluctantly leaving a dueling Mai and Azula behind her. As she got closer, she could hear Zuko yelling at Aang to listen to him. The pleas were, apparently, falling on deaf ears because the words were quickly followed by a firebending or airbending attack. Toph imagined that they both had to be exhausted by now, especially Aang, but neither was giving any quarter.

Within the dense foliage of the trees, Zuko advanced, frustration and anger driving his every assault. Aang evaded, tired, yet determined, waiting for the perfect moment to strike and turn Zuko's own momentum against him. The right time came mere seconds later, when Zuko threw everything he had behind his next punch with the full intention of knocking much needed sense into Aang. He never made it that far. Aang surged his hand forward, discharging a blast of air that knocked Zuko back from the branches. He fell through the canopy of leaves to the hard ground below with an audible thud.

****

"Katara! What happened to you?" Sokka cried, running to flank his sister when he, Suki and Iroh found her hobbling along in the dark forest. He looped her arm around his neck to shore her up on one side, while Suki quickly took the other.

"I had an encounter with Azula," she explained grimly. "I didn't fare well. I can walk now, at least, but my bending is still a little out of whack."

"Your bending?" Suki asked. "Why? What does that have to do with anything?"

"Azula can hit pressure points almost as well as Ty Lee," Katara said.

Sokka faltered a step at that surprising news. "Whoa…wow…I didn't know she could do that," he stammered, clearly shocked.

"Yeah," was Katara's sardonic rejoinder, "neither did I."

"What about the others?" Suki wondered. "Where are they right now? Did she do the same thing to them?"

"She didn't have to," Katara replied.

"What does that mean exactly?" Iroh wanted to know. "What has my niece done now?"

"It's Aang…" Katara revealed grimly. "Something is really wrong with him. Toph and Mai ran ahead to keep him from going after Zuko."

As expected she received a range of reactions to that statement from alarm to speechless shock. Sokka gaped at her when he noted her face in the firelight flickering from Iroh's palm and realized she was being absolutely serious. "Alright," he replied urgently. "You need to start from the very beginning."

****

When Aang airbended himself down from the tree branches to stand over Zuko's prone form, Toph imagined that his intentions were anything but good. Considering how fiercely they'd been battling before, she had very little doubt Aang was preparing himself to make a killing blow. Consequently, she reacted instinctively, spurred on by the desire to protect both him _and_ Zuko. Like Katara, she didn't want Aang doing anything she knew he would regret greatly later and so, Toph did the only thing she felt she could do.

She encased Aang in a thick shell of earth, effectively stopping the young Avatar in his tracks. Swiftly rotating her wrists in a rhythmic motion, Toph added layer on top of layer to the dome, increasing its strength and fortifying the structure to bind Aang as tightly as she could. She didn't stop until Aang was trapped in what resembled a miniature mountain, his arms and legs restricted to the point where Toph hoped his bending would be impossible. Her hope was to immobilize him long enough to talk reason into his head, but Aang was having none of that.

Being confined that way brought with it a rush of confusing images for Aang, all of which dealt with being restrained in the dark and feeling absolutely powerless. He didn't know what they meant, but he knew that they frightened him. He knew that he didn't like the way they made him feel. And he knew that, no matter what happened, he was not going to allow _anyone_ to strip him of his freedom.

With that determination burning in his belly, Aang's eyes and the arrow tattoo on his forehead flashed with an ethereal, unearthly glow before, without warning, a resonating ring of pure, uncompromised energy banded out from Aang's body. The burst of air exploded the earthen prison around him into a million particles of dust, blasting out from his body with enough power to slice the trees in half and basically blow anything within his general vicinity back in a punishing whip of rock and tree bark. Mai, Azula, Toph and Zuko were abruptly tossed backwards in the violent gale, tumbling over fallen tree limbs, boulders and other scattered debris. The four came to rest an eternity later, all curiously still.

His gray eyes muted with grim determination, Aang approached Zuko of a pillar of air. The billowing cloth of his battle garments contracting in the wind surrounding him as he stared down at Zuko's limp form. In gradual movements, Zuko began to stir and he weakly tipped up his head to attempt to reason with Aang one, final time. "Aang, don't end it this way," he pleaded. "I know it's a jumble in your head, because you and I have been so at odds lately but…that doesn't change the fact we're friends and we trust each other. I'm not your enemy! We want the same things!"

"I doubt that," Aang scoffed.

"It's true," Zuko insisted. "I never imagined that you and I would become as close as we did. I know you don't want to do this! I _know_ it feels wrong to you! This isn't _you_. This is Azula…whatever it is that she did to you! You have to rise above it."

"Why should I believe anything you say?" Aang challenged. "You're the one who did all this! I don't want to hurt you, but I can't let Ba Sing Se fall!"

"I know I let that happen once," Zuko confessed in a choked whisper, "but it feels like it happened a lifetime ago. All I want now is restore peace and balance to the world. Nothing else matters! You want that too, remember? We promised that we would do it together."

"…_the world's so different now."_

"_And it's going to be even more different…when we rebuild it together."_

In that moment, it felt like a veil was lifted for Aang, clearing away the fog that seemed to fill his head. Memories suddenly assailed with dizzying force, coming at him so fast and so strong that he actually stumbled with the onslaught. He remembered every single bad encounter he had ever endured with Zuko. But then, conversely, he remembered all the good encounters as well and the latter far outweighed the former. There were training sessions and diplomatic meetings and silly times when they simply would hang out together. Then there was standing up at Zuko's wedding, providing a listening ear when Zuko had trouble coping with his mother's wedding, the disastrous results of following Zuko's rather inept advice on women, being present for the birth of Zuko's children…

Aang remembered all of that, but mostly he remembered that Zuko was his friend, his brother and that he had been right the entire time…Aang didn't want to do this. Hurting Zuko…punishing him was the absolutely last thing he wanted. Ba Sing Se was the past and he and Zuko had begun again a long time ago. With that realization came peace and the swirling winds surrounding Aang gradually calmed down and he drifted back to earth, to rest on his hands and knees, in a quiet wisp of air.

In that instant, Aang became of aware of exactly where he was and, for the first time, surveyed the awesome damage he had inflicted in his rage. He groaned inwardly and reached up to palm his suddenly aching head. "What did I do?" he wondered mournfully.

"Aang?" Startled by the sudden intrusion of Zuko's raspy whisper, Aang snapped to attention and scrambled over to Zuko's side to assist his battered friend into a sitting position. "Are you okay now?" Zuko grunted.

"I…I think so," Aang mumbled in lingering confusion. "I'm not entirely sure what just happened here…"

"You tried to beat me senseless, that's what happened here," Zuko provided in a sharp, exasperated tone. "And people think _I'm_ stubborn? Remind me never to get on your bad side again."

"I'm sorry…" Aang choked out remorsefully. "Zuko, I'm so sorry… I don't know…I don't know what I was thinking."

"You weren't thinking. Forget about it. It wasn't you. I know that," Zuko dismissed. Despite his reassurance, however, Aang was still visibly distressed. "Aang, it's okay," he insisted. "Help me up, will you? I'm just glad you're back." He flashed Aang a weak smile. "It's over and not a moment too soon. All that darting around you do was starting to make me dizzy."

On the other side of the destroyed clearing, Azula was the first one to beginning stirring with consciousness. Mai and Toph began to come around as well, but Azula proved to be quicker in her recovery. She rolled upright just in time to witness the Avatar assist her brother to his feet. That was the final indignity for her. The scene filled her with blind rage. Once again she felt as she had the night of the Agni Kai on the day of the comet and she knew that everything she had worked to build was slowly slipping through her fingers. Even after all that had happened, her brother had not lost a single thing. The Avatar had not lost a single thing while she, on the other hand, had lost everything.

Shaking off the clinging vestiges of grogginess, Azula groped around in the darkness for her crossbow. Sokka, Suki, Katara and Iroh made it to the clearing right as she got off her first round of shots. Mai's stunned gasp was drowned out by Katara's piercing scream of horror as Azula's arrows landed in rapid succession, first hitting Aang and then Zuko. They crumpled to the ground even before clearly realizing they'd been targets at all.

In the aftermath of the attack, it seemed like time slowed to a crawl. Everyone stood frozen in place with gasps of shock and dismay while Azula exploded in a flurry of motion. She leapt and flipped and soared, firing off arrows from her crossbow like a maddened thing. Iroh, Toph, Suki and Sokka made several determined attempts to subdue her, but her wild shots made it almost impossible to get closer. For Katara, the scene was a gruesome reenactment of the crystal catacombs and the Agni Kai spliced together. She felt as if she were reliving a nightmare.

She and Mai darted and ducked the bevy of arrows in an attempt to get to Zuko and Aang. Neither of them made a sound, but lay sprawled against the ground utterly still. The more frantic Mai and Katara became to reach their sides, the more frenzied Azula's attack became. Even when they returned fire and matched her blow for blow, she kept pushing forward, seemingly impervious to the injuries she received or pain they inflicted or the reality that she was terribly outnumbered. She advanced aggressively like a fearsome machine, single-minded and unstoppable. She was past all caring, willing to die if it meant that they would die as well.

Rather than take her one at a time, the group concentrated their efforts, forcing Azula to retreat. She took refuge further down the forest, in a cluster of undamaged trees. Sokka gave chase as Mai and Katara ran over towards Zuko and Aang to access the harm done. Iroh started forward as well, his features contorted with worry for Aang and Zuko and concern over Toph's injury.

Suki laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Go with Sokka," she told him. "We'll take care of them."

"I'll be fine," Toph followed up reassuringly. "Stop Azula. That's all that matters right now." With a determined, but albeit conflicted nod of agreement, Iroh started off after Sokka while Suki assisted Toph over to a fallen tree to rest her injured leg.

Noting the rapid draining of color from Mai and Katara's faces, Suki asked reluctantly, "How are they?"

"It's not good," Mai replied tightly.

Azula had hit her mark four different times. The first of her arrows had pierced Aang through the back, not too far from where Azula had struck him with lightning years earlier. Zuko had taken the remaining three. His armor had prevented the arrows in his shoulder and chest from penetrating too deeply, but the arrow in his abdomen had managed to pierce a weak spot. Mai was grateful he was unconscious because, if he hadn't been, Zuko would have been in the pain of his life. Azula's intentions for them were gruesomely clear.

Together, Mai and Katara each carefully pulled their injured husbands into their laps and began to tend and bind their wounds. Though they worked efficiently, the shaking in their hands was visible to Suki even from a distance. Katara wept openly. Mai's countenance looked as if it had been carved from alabaster, though her eyes glittered with emotion. Despite their very different reactions, however, it was evident that both women were in agony.

Though Toph couldn't see their reactions or the extent of Aang and Zuko's injuries, she knew the situation was grim. Mai and Katara's heartbeats were so rapid that Toph could virtually hear the blood roaring through their veins. Conversely, Aang and Zuko's heartbeats were so weak and sluggish; Toph had to strain to hear them at all. She tried to take comfort in the fact that, at least, they were still beating.

"Can't you just do the healing thing?" Toph asked Katara anxiously.

"I'm trying," Katara gritted as she worked over Aang yet again. Several times she had run her hands over Aang and Zuko's wounds respectively and always the same thing happened. She could not command the water and the liquid would do little more than sway over their bodies in a conformed pool before uselessly spilling over their wounds. "I can't," she wept brokenly. "It's not working. I can't do it!"

"Go back to camp and find a waterbender," Mai urged Suki. "Hurry."

****

Azula crouched down in her hiding place, pressing back into the shadows as Iroh and Sokka began carefully circling the spot where she lay concealed. She listened closely to the faint crackling of the fallen leaves beneath their feet as they drew closer. Quiet and precise, she pulled several arrows from the sheathe at her back and nimbly reloaded her weapon. Bringing the crossbow eye level, Azula took careful aim at Iroh and pulled the trigger. She missed her mark. The arrow arced into the sky at a crooked angle as the knife blade sank deeply into her back. Her startled cry of pain revealed her hiding place to Sokka and Iroh.

They found her cradled in her mother's arms, her weapon having slipped from her flaccid grip. Ursa, dressed in a full Fire Nation uniform without the helmet, lovingly stroked Azula's hair while simultaneously weeping bitter tears. Her skein of unbound hair shielded her features from view, but neither Iroh nor Sokka needed to see her face to know she was sobbing in torment. "She didn't leave me any choice," she whispered numbly. She raised vacant eyes to meet Iroh's dumbfounded stare, pulling her hand from beneath Azula's body to reveal blood-soaked fingers. "Please…I don't want her to die."

Iroh snapped a frantic glance towards Sokka. "Go get your sister!"

As Sokka sprinted to obey the command, Ursa continued to stroke Azula tenderly, the warm droplets of her tears falling into Azula's loosed hair. "Why would you do this?" she keened mournfully. "Why, Azula? Why?"

"Why…not…" Azula choked out with a breathless, ironic laugh. "…it…it was…meant to be this…way…" she whispered faintly, "…I'm glad…it was…you…"

Sokka burst from the cluster of leaning trees and made a mad dash in his sister's direction only to be brought up short when Ursa's sudden, desolate cry filled his ears. His steps faltered momentarily before he continued running towards his destination. However, when he reached Katara, he came to another stumbling halt when he found Mai and Katara each cradling their husbands with the grimmest expressions he had ever witnessed.

"They're…they're not…" He couldn't force the remainder of the question from his lips.

"No, they're not," Toph answered in a strangled tone. "Suki's gone to find a healer. She should be back soon."

Sokka looked over at Katara, blinking back the rapid tears that formed in his eyes. "So you weren't able to do anything for them?"

"I managed to close the wounds and that was all," Katara choked. "There was nothing I could do about the internal injuries. My bending is still too weak."

"Where's Azula?" Mai demanded curtly. "Tell me she's done."

"She is _hurt_," Sokka emphasized. "I think it's really bad. Iroh wants you to come and—,"

"No," Katara refused before he had even finished the request. "I won't do it."

"You won't or you can't?"

"I _won't_," she reiterated coldly as she and Mai traded an emotionless stare of understanding. "If she needs help, it won't come from me."

"She's _dying_, Katara," Sokka stressed, though he wasn't completely certain about what role he wanted his sister to play in changing that fact, if any.

Katara, however, was not conflicted at all. She glanced over at Mai briefly in another unspoken exchange before returning her gaze to Aang's still face. "Then let her die."


	24. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Aang's eyes flashed abruptly open and he bolted upright, gasping for breath. The sudden movement caused exploding pain to radiate through his back and chest and he groaned with the unexpected sensation. He blinked back the automatic tears that sprang to his eyes. Seconds later a pair of gentle hands came out of the darkness to press against his shoulders and tenderly nudge him back into the pillows. His throat worked in a spasmodic swallow as he lifted his eyes to find Katara's somber features filling his line of sight.

"Careful," she cautioned him softly as she readjusted the twisted sheets over his body. "You shouldn't be making any sudden movements like that. You're still healing, Aang." He nodded his understanding at her mild admonishment, though he wasn't completely sure of all the details, and let himself relax. Satisfied, Katara leaned back and perched herself on the edge of the bed so that her hip aligned with his. "Did you have a nightmare?" she asked him.

"I think so," he breathed out with a confused frown. "I dreamed Azula used Zuko and me for target practice."

"That was no dream," Katara replied, nodding to the swathe of bandages around his torso. "You both almost died."

Aang squinted up at her, clearly fuzzy on the details. "We did?" Katara confirmed his question with a wry nod. "What happened? Where…where are we right now?"

"We're back in Ba Sing Se at Kuei's palace. We weren't able to leave because you and Zuko were so gravely injured. Neither of you fared very well when you faced off with Azula," Katara told him. "But, to your credit, she did take cheap shots at you. She could have never bested either of you in a fair fight."

"Well, that's good to know," Aang grunted, though the question of Azula's prowess in a fair fight seemed a moot point when _he_ was the one laid up afterwards. "How's Zuko?"

"He's recovering just like you," she said. "He's had it a bit harder though. Azula really nailed him."

"I'm not surprised. You know how it's always been between them…sibling rivalry, only the nutso, psychotic kind," Aang mumbled. "Makes me glad I don't have a sister." He briefly closed his eyes, trying to grasp hold of the memory of what had transpired, but the recollection flirted on the edges of his consciousness and he couldn't quite reach it. Frustrated, Aang grabbed for the corner of the sheets, intending to get the details straight from the ostrich horse's mouth. He started to push himself upright so that he could scoot from the bed, but Katara was quick to block his intentions.

"Where do you think you're going?" she challenged him.

"To see Zuko," he replied. "That '_not_' dream I had was pretty intense. I want to see for myself that he's alright."

"Forget about it. You are not leaving this bed, Aang," Katara stated implacably. "Lie back down." Aang opened his mouth to argue only to be met with Katara's narrowed stare of displeasure. "Now," she commanded.

Aang dutifully reclined back into the pillows. "Yes, maam," he acquiesced in a mumble.

Katara sighed over his pouting expression. "I don't mean to be so tough on you," she murmured. "It's just…I lost you for nearly a month, got you back for barely a day and then almost lost you again. I think I'm entitled to be a little bit overprotective, okay?"

"Okay," Aang relented with a sigh of his own. He glanced down at his bandaged chest before flashing Katara with a weak, but grateful smile. "I guess I should thank you…again," he surmised. "Are you trying to make some kind of habit out of saving my life?"

Eyes sparkling with laughter, Katara replied in a matter of fact tone, "It's not so much a habit anymore as it's become a hobby for me."

His sharp crack of laughter immediately dissolved into a pained groan. "Oh, don't make me laugh," he beseeched her, cradling his throbbing center. "It hurts really bad."

"I'll bet," Katara murmured sympathetically. "Do you want something for the pain?"

"No," he sighed tiredly, lifting his hand briefly to brush his knuckles across her jaw. Just that small gesture of affection taxed the remainder of his strength, however, and Aang suddenly felt very, very tired. "I feel like I've been out of it for days already," he said. "I want to keep talking to you. I don't want anything that might make me sleep. I'm sure I've had plenty of it."

Katara's lips curved in a soft smile. "You'd be right about that. Four days to be exact," she clarified.

"I've been out for four days?" Aang balked. "I feel like I'm sleeping my life away!"

"Well, your injuries were pretty serious," Katara explained. "Azula's arrow punctured your lung and the waterbender who healed you wasn't as skilled as I am. She couldn't quite repair all the damage. And by the time I was able to help, there wasn't much I could do about most of it either."

"Why did you need another waterbender to heal me?" Aang wondered in confusion.

"You're not the only one who had an encounter with Azula that didn't go well," she hedged vaguely.

Katara was hesitant to tell him more, simply because she did not want to dwell on the depressing events of the last week now that he had finally opened his eyes. Though he had drifted in and out of wakefulness for the past few days and they had managed to have a handful of mumbled conversations, this was the first time Aang was completely lucid and she didn't want to spoil it by upsetting him. However, she also knew that if he pressed her for the information, she wasn't going to keep it from him.

Something flickered in his eyes that warned her that was exactly Aang's objective and his next careful words confirmed her suspicions. "In that 'not' dream I had…" he began a little casually, "…it wasn't just Azula who was attacking Zuko." He lowered his eyes as he added in a suffocated tone, "I did too." There was a beat of silence before he actually managed to meet her gaze again. "Is that true?" he asked her around a rough swallow. "Did I attack Zuko?"

"Yeah, you did," Katara confirmed but quickly rushed to assure him when he groaned with regret, "You didn't hurt him, Aang." Her reassurance didn't seem to help and he merely continued shaking his head and mumbling, "no, no, no," over and over again. "You weren't in control of your actions," Katara explained to him firmly. "Azula did something to you…like what the Dai Li did to Jet. But even under her influences, you were still Aang. You never went after Zuko with the intention of killing him. He told us that himself."

"It doesn't matter," Aang moaned sorrowfully, turning onto his side to present her with his back in spite of the gripping pain it caused him. "Everything that happened is my fault, Katara." The memories of that day assailed him in jagged pieces, but while they were disjointed, the picture was still made very clear to him. Though Katara shook her head to refute his words, he pressed on. "You don't understand. I could have stopped it," he said. "It's my fault. I lied to you all and Zuko almost lost his life because of it."

"What do you mean you lied?"

"You and Zuko asked me over and over again if I was okay," he recounted in a suffocated tone. "I _knew_ I wasn't. I knew something was wrong with me, but I just hoped it would go away. I wanted to go with you guys so badly that I jeopardized you all in the process. If I had stayed behind—,"

"—Then maybe Azula would have devised a new plan of attack," Katara concluded softly. She placed a hand on his shoulder and, at her loving touch, Aang turned a shamed glance at her over his shoulder. "This was Azula's doing from start to finish," she told him. "I don't want you to blame yourself."

"Don't do that," he whispered. "Don't make excuses for me. I owe you an apology. I owe all of you an apology, Katara. I made a really bad judgment call and you know it."

"You're right," she agreed. "You did make a bad call and, if you'll notice, you paid for it. If you're expecting me to heap recrimination on you after that, you're going to have a long wait, Aang."

He shifted onto his back to regard her with shimmering eyes. "I don't deserve you," he mumbled. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry about ly—,"

She stifled his flow of words with her lips, kissing him fervently. "Shh…" she admonished softly. "No more apologies. I have never expected you to be perfect, Aang, and I don't expect it now. You made a mistake this time. Next time, it will be my mistake. It happens. We learn from it and we move on. But I'm not angry and I'm not resentful because all I can be is happy that you're alive and here with me right now."

"I love you so much," he whispered fiercely, knotting his fingers in the hair at the nape of her neck and bringing her down against him for another kiss. He could taste the salt of her tears as the kiss deepened and he framed her face with his hands to brush them away.

"Yeah, he's feeling better." Sokka's sardonic declaration had them parting with a self-conscious laugh. Katara reluctantly pushed herself upright and turned a glance towards the door just as Toph, Suki and Sokka entered. "We just came from seeing Zuko," Sokka volunteered laughingly. "He and Mai were doing the exact same thing. I guess this means you're both on the mend now."

Aang surveyed Katara with a wistful stare. "Katara takes very good care of me," he told his friends.

"I'll just bet she does," Toph grunted playfully.

As she limped over to his bedside, Aang's eyes narrowed in concern as he noted her unsteady gait. "Are you alright?" he queried solicitously. "What happened to you?"

Toph laughed at the worried tone in his voice, further amused because it was the sixth time in four days he'd asked her that question though he, understandably, had no recollection of doing so. "You mean this?" she scoffed, gesturing towards her leg. "It's just a flesh wound. It's nothing nearly as dramatic as what happened to you and Zuko. You two are such attention hounds."

Aang started to laugh at her irreverent teasing when a sudden thought occurred to him. "Wait a second…if Zuko is still recovering then what's going on with the war?" he asked anxiously. "How bad is it? Did we lose?"

"Lose?" Sokka scoffed. "Don't you remember? After everything had settled and we were able to get you back to camp, you went straight to General Fong. You gave this beautiful, heartfelt speech about learning to settle our differences amicably and about how war and violence only leads to hatred and anarchy. You told the rebel armies that if they were looking for peace and justice, neither of those things could be achieved through war and brutality. And you told them that if they chose to fight, you would crush them without mercy. It was so awesome! Unfortunately, after we left and you basically had them shaking in terror, you took about two steps before you passed out cold. It sort of ruined the moment."

"I did?" Aang considered with a deep frown. "I don't remember any of that."

"Well, you were pretty loopy," Suki recounted. "But even when you were half dead and barely breathing, you still made this amazing argument for peace and good will. The army got the message. They surrendered directly after."

"The fact they had been getting their butts kicked all over the battlefield might have had something to do with it as well," Toph interjected wryly.

"In the meantime, Mai is acting as interim Firelord while Zuko recovers," Suki explained. "Except for some skirmishes in the middle kingdom, the war, if you can even call it that, is over. Sokka and I are going to be traveling out to the middle Earth Kingdom in a few days to help reestablish order there while you and Zuko get back on your feet."

It humbled Aang that they would assume responsibilities that were primarily assigned to him and without the tiniest hint of resentment over it either. He had an amazing group of friends. "Thanks, you guys," Aang sighed gratefully.

"Aang, you don't have to thank us," Sokka replied. "We're Team Avatar, remember? This is what we do. We probably would have left sooner, but we wanted to stick around and make sure you and Zuko were going to be okay first."

"Okay, so the army surrendered, but what about Azula?" Aang wondered blankly. "I have a hard time believing any speech I made had an impact on her…so what happened?" The bedchamber became uncommonly silent following Aang's question. Several uncomfortable looks passed between Sokka, Suki and Katara that did not go unnoticed by Aang. His eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Okay, what's going on?" he demanded in mounting dread.

"Well, it's like this…" Toph began dryly. "Azula bit it."

Aang gaped. "She what?"

"She bought the farm, kicked the bucket. She croaked. She's worm food. She's pushing up daisies. Pick your euphemism," Toph said. "The gist of it is…she's deader than a door knell."

"What?" Aang balked in absolute horror.

"Aang," Katara whispered, splaying a comforting hand over his shoulder, "while Toph was needlessly brutal about the entire thing," she paused to throw the aforementioned a quelling glare, "what she said was true. Azula…she was killed. She's gone."

"I…I didn't do it, did I?" he burst out in a panic-edged tone.

"No. You didn't do it," Sokka reassured him. "But it was a done deal anyway. She had numerous injuries and it's likely one of them would have killed her regardless."

"But one of them _didn't_ kill her though, right?" Aang surmised carefully. "There's something you're not telling me."

"It's complicated," Sokka hedged. "The bottom line is…she's gone. If it makes you feel any better, I think it's probably what she wanted anyway."

"Actually, it _doesn't_ make me feel better," Aang replied glumly, "but thanks for trying." He expelled a heavy sigh full of sorrow. "I guess I always wanted to believe that she could be better than what she was…that maybe she _wanted_ to be better." Aang shook his head in unspoken remorse. "Her mother must be devastated."

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," Toph mumbled under her breath, only to receive a well-placed elbow from Suki for her trouble.

Yet another strange look circulated among his friends and Aang growled in frustration to see it. "What's going on?" he cried again in mounting exasperation. "What aren't you guys telling me? Is it Zuko? Does he not know what happened?"

"He knows what happened," Toph confirmed.

"So what…did he not take it very well?" Aang wondered directly after. "I know that he and Azula had something of a love/hate relationship, but…I know he never wanted her to die."

"Like Sokka said, it's complicated," Suki interjected carefully. "Right now I think Zuko is mainly worried about his mom. She's been a mess since it happened."

"I can imagine," Aang murmured. He started to express his desire to go and see her to offer condolences, but the moment he attempted to sit upright, searing pain knifed through his torso. With a small, agonized gasp, he fell back into the pillows as his features drained completely of color. He grimaced when Katara began to fuss over him. "I'm fine…" he told her a little breathlessly. "I moved too fast. That's all."

"You shouldn't be trying to move at all," Katara scolded him.

"She's right," Sokka agreed. "Now is not the time for you to be trying to do stuff, Aang. You need to give yourself time to heal and recover this time. We won't accept any arguments to the contrary."

"Aww, guys…" Aang whined.

"Shush up and live with it," Toph declared succinctly. "You've caused us enough drama these past few weeks to last a lifetime. Good grief, give us a break, Twinkle Toes."

"I hate lying in this bed feeling useless," Aang complained. "I bet Zuko's having a really hard time right now. This has to be a lot for him to handle all at once."

"Zuko has a very good support system," Suki reasoned. "The best thing you can do for him is to get better. We're having just as hard a time keeping him in bed because he's so worried about you. The irony would be funny if it didn't make him such a lousy patient."

"And on that note," Katara announced before they could all begin a new round of poor Mai, "…it's time for everyone to go." She began ushering them towards the door. "Aang needs his rest."

"But I don't want to rest, Katara," her husband pouted. However, he spoiled the protest with a broad yawn.

"Yeah, we can tell," Sokka snorted.

"Give it up, Twinkle Toes," Toph laughed as she, Suki and Sokka headed out. "Relax, okay. We'll be back in the morning. Promise."

Sokka flashed him a wave. "Sleep tight, buddy," he said.

"Feel better," Suki added.

Once they were gone, Katara closed the double doors behind them and leaned back into the wooden façade to regard Aang. As she expected, he was lying in the bed with a preoccupied expression on his face. Katara sighed. "You should sleep now," she urged him.

"When I'm recovered, I want to join Sokka and Suki in the campaign to reestablish order in the middle kingdom," he announced stubbornly.

Katara rolled her eyes. "How did I _know_ you were going to say that?"

"It's the least I can do," Aang argued. "Purposely or inadvertently, my actions are the reason this conflict happened in the first place. I want to do what I can to bring back order. I need to do this, Katara. Maybe if I'd confronted Zuko sooner…maybe if I had told you from the beginning what was going on with me…" He trailed off into a mumble as he said, "Maybe it would have been different."

"Yeah, because you've always had so much control over what other people do, Aang," Katara remarked drolly. "Come on. You can't make everyone play nice. The most you can do is _show_ them how they can be better. Set the example. The rest is up to them. As for Azula…her own family couldn't keep her reined in. What makes you think that you had a better chance of doing so? If that was the case, you could have made her good years ago."

"I still feel responsible," Aang whispered.

"Listen to me," she replied, climbing beneath the covers and carefully stretching out alongside him. She reached out to smooth the conflicted furrow from his forehead. "All this negativity is counterproductive and only impedes your recovery. You heard what Sokka said. Nothing you did or didn't do would have changed the outcome. By the end, Azula was looking for her own death."

"I guess…"

Determined to lift his spirits, Katara pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth and changed the subject altogether. "I know what will make you feel better," she said, her blues eyes sparkling with secret merriment. "In fact, it's going to make you smile."

Her certainty as well as the underlying excitement in her voice drew Aang's half-lidded stare to her face. He lifted his hand to feather a delicate touch across her collarbone. "It'll definitely make me smile," he murmured in agreement. "But, considering my condition right now, you'd probably have to do all the work. I can't do much more than lie here and enjoy it."

His reply had her grimacing in exasperation. "Ugh, Aang…I'm not talking about _that_!" Katara exclaimed laughingly. "Don't you ever think about anything else?"

"Not lately," he replied candidly and without a hint of apology either.

"Well, I _definitely_ wasn't talking about that," Katara clarified dramatically. But then her brows drew together in a thoughtful frown and she added, "Though doing that does have _something_ to do with it…"

Confused, Aang frowned at her. "What are you talking about, Katara?"

Rather than answering him directly, Katara carefully positioned herself so that her weight would not be against him when she took hold of his hand and pressed his palm to her abdomen. At first, Aang mistook her intentions. He opened his mouth to tease her about trying to seduce him after all, but the words suddenly lodged in his throat when he caught the meaningful look in her blue gaze. He swallowed audibly as her meaning hit him a split second later. His eyes flared wide with shock and surprise.

"No way…" Aang breathed out in smiling incredulity. Katara giggled over his reaction. "Are you sure?" he asked, half astonished, half excited. "Are you really, _really_ sure?" Katara nodded happily. "Seriously? You're pregnant? We're going to have a baby?"

Katara bobbed her head in another overjoyed nod. "I've wanted to tell you for days now…ever since I realized," she whispered, "but you've been…well…"

"Unconscious?" Aang finished irreverently. Katara swallowed back an ironic laugh as Aang's smiled widened considerably. He blew out a little, staccato breath of pure amazement. "Wow," he uttered, fascinated, overjoyed and quite nearly speechless. He framed her face in his hands and kissed her soundly on the lips. "Oh, wow…you're having my baby. I'm going to be a dad…"

"You see?" Katara teased thickly, leaning up over him to cup his cheek tenderly. "I told you it would make you smile."

****

When Zuko heard the shuffling steps approaching from behind, he gingerly turned a glance over his shoulder. Aang hobbled out onto the balcony. Leaning heavily against the cane he used to keep his balance, Zuko pivoted to face his friend. "Does your warden know you're out in the yard right now?" he wondered wryly as Aang came to stand alongside him.

"Does yours?" Aang countered smartly.

"Hey, I'm just saying you might not want to provoke Katara's wrath, that's all," Zuko advised him. "I've had firsthand experience with that." He shuddered. "It's not pretty."

"Don't worry. I can handle Katara just fine," Aang said confidently, but he was quick to throw a glance over his shoulder to make sure Katara wasn't lurking in the shadows behind him. When he was satisfied that he was in the clear, he turned to regard Zuko's somber profile. "By the way, you look awful," he blurted awkwardly.

"Thanks," was Zuko's droll reply. "Being used as a human pin cushion will do that to you."

"Tell me about it," Aang mumbled sympathetically. Zuko slid him a glance at his single bandage before considering his numerous ones and then leveled Aang with a look that clearly stated, "Don't even go there." Ducking his head sheepishly, Aang sighed and finally addressed the subject that had really compelled him to seek out Zuko in the early morning hours. The sun was only just beginning to peek over the horizon. "Katara and the others told me about Azula." When he made no response to that, Aang asked softly, "How are you holding up?"

"I'm okay," Zuko sighed after a lengthy pause of silence. "It's for the best, you know? She did a lot of damage."

"She was still your sister."

"Biologically," Zuko considered faintly. "Emotionally? I could have gotten more affection and loyalty from a tiger-wolf. Katara has been more of a sister to me than Azula ever was. I can't honestly say I'm grieving. I'm more worried about my mother than anything else. She's taking it pretty hard."

"She loved your sister," Aang surmised quietly.

"Yeah, she did," Zuko muttered in agreement. He expelled a shuddering sigh and pulled his lower lip between his teeth. "So your policy has been enforced. Just in case you haven't heard…the colonies have officially come under Earth Kingdom law. You got what you wanted."

Aang flashed him a sharpened look. "For the record, it was never what I _wanted_, Zuko," he said. "All I ever wanted was to establish peace. I never wanted to alienate you or have this come between us."

Zuko shrugged. "It doesn't matter. I guess you were right in a way," he conceded. "My pride _was_ blinding me to the bigger picture. I just felt like my people had sacrificed so much already…why should they be expected to sacrifice more? Then I realized I was making it more about _my_ sacrifice and not _theirs_. I talked to Uncle about it and he told me 'there is wisdom in discipline and glory in humility.'"

The proverb left Aang frowning. "And that's supposed to mean what exactly?"

"I don't know really," Zuko sighed in laughing chagrin, "but I'm assuming it means I made the right decision to let the colonies go."

"I think you did too," Aang said. Another stretch of tension silence yawned between them before finally managed to break it. "So…uh…" he began in an uncomfortable stammer, "You…you know what happened before…with that whole 'trying to kill you' thing… I'm really sorry about that."

"I never thought you were going to kill me, Aang," Zuko snorted. "Even as confused and out of it as you were, you still fought like an Airbender. I knew you didn't want to hurt me. It was more frustrating than frightening."

"Gee, thanks," Aang mumbled dryly.

"No offense, Aang, but I don't really find you all that intimidating."

The young Avatar scowled his consideration of that statement, unable to decide whether he should be relieved over Zuko's admission or offended by it. "Um…that's good…I guess," he finally muttered.

"I was more worried that whatever Azula had done to you was permanent," Zuko confessed. "All I wanted to do was get you back before you hurt someone…or yourself."

"It…it was a drug that she'd given me," Aang explained haltingly. "I think it might have caused hallucinations…delusions. I always felt like I was dreaming after she gave it to me. It was very hard for me to discern reality. I don't guess it was completely out of my system when I rode out with you to meet her army that day. I'm sorry. I knew I wasn't okay and I went with you anyway. You told me it was going to be a disaster and it was. I should have had better judgment about it."

"Yeah, you're right. You probably should have," Zuko agreed glibly, but before Aang could launch into a self-deprecating monologue over his succinct response, he added, "but then I'm hardly the one to criticize you about it. Good judgment isn't necessarily my strong suit either."

"But I'm the Avatar," Aang argued. "I should have known better."

"And you're also human. You make mistakes," Zuko sighed. "You can't go through life expecting that you won't, Aang, so get over that."

"Since when did you start dispensing the wisdom?" Aang asked.

"I think it has a lot to do with becoming a father," Zuko considered. "Suddenly, I see things much differently than I had prior to Shi and Tong's birth. The world changed overnight after they were born. It's amazing." He slid a glance over at Aang. "The same thing is probably going to happen to you. Congratulations, by the way."

Surprised, Aang gaped at him. "But…but she only just told me tonight," he stammered. "How did you know?"

"Good news travels fast," Zuko replied with a small smile. "Sokka's not very good at keeping a secret. If it makes you feel any better though…I think Mai knew long before either one of you. We've just been waiting for the two of you to catch on."

Aang digested that with a nod. "We think maybe it happened while we were together at the Southern Air Temple after our wedding," he confessed. "Katara said she'd had her suspicions, but she wasn't absolutely sure until a few days ago."

"Yeah, that's pretty much what Mai thought too," Zuko said.

"Wow…thanks for the heads up there," Aang remarked sarcastically.

"No problem," came Zuko's droll reply.

With the atmosphere considerably relaxed between them, Aang found himself wanting to be doubly sure there was no lingering resentment between them. After all that had transpired in the last few days, Aang wanted to do his utmost to leave nothing unspoken. "So then…uh…we're cool about everything?" he prompted hopefully.

Zuko reached out to lightly clamp a hand on Aang's shoulder. "Yeah, we're cool. We always will be, Aang."

"Aww, isn't this so touching?" Sokka suddenly cooed from behind, causing Zuko to snatch back his hand and the wince at the pain the hasty movement caused him. Aang and Zuko turned to find all their friends filing onto the balcony. "Are you and Aang making up in the sunrise?" Sokka asked as he closed the distance, dabbing at his eyes in mock sentimentality. "I think I might actually tearbend."

"You're hilarious, Sokka," Zuko groused. "Why aren't you people in bed? It's barely morning."

"Hmm, let's see," Katara considered sardonically, "Two injured men running around an unfamiliar palace in the early morning hours. Why would _that_ worry us at all?"

"Am I in trouble?" Aang asked as she came to flank him. She carefully hooked his arm around her neck so that he could lean his weight against her. Though he hadn't complained of fatigue or pain, when Katara did that, Aang gratefully slumped against her.

She smiled up at him, a mixture of vexation and affection. "Do you want to be?"

"I really needed to talk to Zuko," Aang explained. He and Zuko exchanged a meaningful look. "There were some things we needed to settle between us."

"Well, I think it's sweet that Aang was so determined to fix their lovers' spat," Suki teased. "It's about time you guys kissed and made up. The tension was unbearable."

"Lovers' spat?" he and Zuko balked simultaneously.

"Hey, I'm just thankful I know you're not attracted to men," Mai teased him as she rose up on her toes to kiss Zuko's pouting mouth, "otherwise I might worry that Aang was serious competition for me."

"That's not funny, Mai," Zuko replied seriously.

"Well, you _did_ chase him all over the world for the better part of a year," Toph considered irreverently. "All those nights in hot pursuit, sleepless and full of obsession…it could be a mask for underlying feelings of unrequited love."

"Ugh, that's just sick and wrong, Toph," Zuko declared with a disgusted gag. He and Aang traded a shuddering glance. "Aang and I are just friends." He palmed his face as the declaration rang out in his ears and struck him as being utterly ridiculous. "I can't believe I just had to voice that out loud," he grumbled.

"I was just thinking the same thing," Aang concurred in aggravated agreement.

"Don't worry, you two," Katara said as she moved to flank Aang and loosely drape her around his waist so that he could lean his weight into her body. "I'm not buying into this romantic business between you guys at all."

Both men smiled at her. "Thank you, Katara."

However, before they could gloat over the fact that they had won Katara over to their side, she added cheekily, "It's not like it could ever work, Zuko. You'd always be second in Aang's heart. It's all about me. There is no competition."

As his friends erupted into fits of laughter over Zuko's disgruntled reaction, Aang turned a glance around at them before settling on Katara's face with an infatuated smile of contentment. Even with the last month of pure, unobstructed chaos, Aang could honestly say that he was the happiest he had ever been in his entire life.

He placed his hand on his wife's belly where new life was growing…the life they had created together. They smiled into each other's eyes. "You're right, Katara," he sighed. "There is no competition. None at all."

**The End**


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